The Size of His Heart
by insanemonkeyboy
Summary: 3 months after the war with Alvarez, Brandish shows up and announces her decision to join Fairy Tail. At first Lucy is happy to see this mage that she believed she was forming a bond with. But soon it becomes clear that Brandish has more than a passing interest in Natsu. Why is the powerful mage so taken with Natsu, and how will Lucy react? Natsu x Brandish, a little Lucy angst
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. I just write about them.

This story is being written in conjunction with one other story. I'll try to keep them fairly balanced, but no promises if one starts getting interesting.

This will have more drama and less action than some other stories. Especially with Brandish as part of the pairing, there's not a whole lot that could challenge them terribly.

So anyway, here's chapter 1. R & R please.

* * *

 **A few months after the Alvarez War**

"I've decided to join Fairy Tail after all. Will you accept me?" Brandish asked the guild master, who sat near the bar with a drink in each hand.

"Umm, sure." Makarov looked up at the young woman. "What made you change your mind, though?"

"Let's just say this is the only guild where I might one day feel like I belong…"

 **~~~FLASHBACK START** – **during the war with Alvarez~~~**

"Hey, I hear you went and saved my life! Thanks a lot!"

 _Does he really not remember?_ Brandish turned her head to make sure they couldn't see her face. The rest of their words were drowned out to her as she lost herself in thought. _How can he not remember? How could he forget something so important?_

 _Well, if he's not dead by the time this war is over, I swear I'm going to stick around and make him remember. He'd better not be with that blonde slut, or that's something else I can't forgive her for._

Suddenly she realized they'd said something that they expected an answer to.

"I never expected you to beat Jacob…" she didn't care if it sounded totally random. She just started talking, pushing away the feelings that threatened to overtake her.

 **~~~END FLASHBACK~~~**

Brandish smiled as she got the Fairy Tail guild stamp on her right thigh. _This guild is supposedly the most exciting guild in Fiore… but that's not really why I'm here._

"Welcome Brandish!" Lucy waved. Brandish put on a smile and waved back, making her way to the table. Not because of the blonde bimbo, but because of the pink haired dragon slayer who sat across from her.

She took a seat right next to him, across from the blonde-haired celestial mage.

"Hello Lucy. Yeah, I decided to join the guild after all. Just seems like the place that might feel most like home." She couldn't help looking at Natsu as she said that. "I'm surprised you would take me so readily, though, after everything I've done."

"Well, we like to say anyone's welcome at Fairy Tail," Lucy said with her same smile. "No matter what you've done in the past, you'll always have a place in our guild, so long as you want it."

"That's right!" Natsu said cheerfully.

"Yeah, there's always a place for hot chicks like you," Laxus leered, approaching the table. Suddenly he shrunk to the size of a fly and was backhanded across the room before returning to normal size. "Oooww…"

"Annoying insect," Brandish said as she turned her attention back to Natsu. "So Natsu, have you thought about what to do now that the biggest battle of your life is over?"

"Well, not really." The dragon slayer put his hands behind his head and laughed. "I just like to take life as it comes!"

"I bet," she couldn't help smiling a little. He really hadn't changed…

"Hey Natsu," the bimbo across the table broke in. "Why don't you come sleep at my place tonight?"

"Really?!" Natsu grinned. "You won't kick me out like you always do?"

"I'm inviting you, silly. Why would I kick you out?"

"Oh, right." The dragon slayer grinned at her.

Then he looked back at Brandish. "So where are you staying, Brandish?"

"Oh…" she had a hotel, but an idea came to her mind. "I'm not really sure yet. I guess I'll see if I can sleep at the guild for tonight."

"Well why don't you come too?" He asked. "Lucy's house has a nice couch, and I can just sleep on the floor. I'm comfortable anywhere!"

"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Brandish put on her best smile, looking at Lucy. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course Lucy doesn't mind." Natsu grinned, though Lucy's face said otherwise. "She's cool like that."

"Natsu…" Lucy said.

Brandish feigned surprise. "Oh… I wouldn't want to cut in on your love life…"

"No, it's not like that!" Brandish noticed Lucy's dark blush as she spoke, but Natsu didn't have much reaction at all other than surprise. That was good to see.

"Oh… So you won't mind if I join you then?"

"Fine," Lucy muttered, glaring at Brandish.

 **~~Lucy's POV~~**

Lucy couldn't believe she'd lost this argument. It was her house for Mavis' sake! And now this newcomer – who obviously wanted to steal Natsu – was breaking in on her attempt to get him to herself for the night.

Of course, if she was perfectly honest with herself, the only reason she'd even invited Natsu was because she could already see Brandish trying to throw herself at the dragon slayer. What kind of a slut did that after barely meeting a man anyway?

What annoyed her most was how she'd latched onto Natsu and swatted Laxus away like a fly. That meant it wouldn't be easy to redirect her attention to another guy in the guild.

 _No,_ she corrected herself. What really annoyed her most was how oblivious Natsu was to it. _I'm starting to regret saving that bitch back then… She probably even has a hotel room or something that she could stay at tonight._

"Lucy?" She suddenly became aware Natsu was talking to her.

"What's that Natsu?" she asked, flustered.

"I said she'll fit in great around here, the way she just swatted Laxus like a fly."

"Yeah – she'll be a wonderful fit," Lucy said, forcing a smile. Then she got up. "Well, we should get going," she said. "I have a few things I want to do before I get home."

"Things like what?"

"Oh, you know, shopping… that kind of stuff."

Natsu grimaced. "I'll just stick around the guild for a while then."

"Aww, come on Natsu. Don't you want to come shopping with me?"

"Nah…"

"I'll buy you lunch!"

"Lunch?" Natsu seemed more interested suddenly.

"Natsu," Brandish smiled at the mage. "How much does Mirajane charge for her cooking? I've heard it's delicious…"

"Mira? She won't charge anything as long as you pay for whatever you want her to cook…"

"Great! I'll have her cook up something for me, and how about 10 giant steaks for you, and a few fish for your cat. All you have to do is accompany me to the grocery store and help me carry the food back."

"Alright!" Natsu pumped his fist in the air. "If it's for food, I can handle shopping!"

 _This one is going to be a problem…_ Lucy glared daggers at Brandish as she departed, arm in arm with the dragon slayer.

 **~~~Later that evening~~~**

"You know," Lucy said as the three sat in her living room. "I think I'm going to take a bath. Why don't you come too, Brandish?" She shot the other mage a meaningful look.

"Sure, why not?" Brandish shrugged apathetically. "Baths are always enjoyable."

Lucy fumed silently as the green-haired mage started stripping on the way to the bathroom. She seemed to have very little concern about modesty.

"Look away, you pervert!" She yelled when she saw Natsu's eyes following Brandish's now naked ass to the bathroom.

Once they were in the bathroom, she slammed the door shut before getting undressed herself.

"What the fuck was that?" She asked, glaring daggers at Brandish.

"What?" The mage asked coolly. "It's not my fault your boyfriend likes my ass."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Then I don't see the problem."

 _Ok. This is it… I'm clearly going to have to stake my claim clearly here._ "Alright, listen. Do you recall how you came in believing I'd wrongfully taken the Aquarius key that should've belonged to you?"

"You mean the one you still haven't acquired again yet? Yes, I remember."

"Well I have a feeling you're trying to take something else that is mine… and need to be reminded that it's not your place."

Brandish's facial expression didn't change. "I thought you weren't together."

"We're not!" Lucy said angrily. "Yet…"

"Then he's fair game," Brandish said.

"Look," Lucy said with a sigh. "I've known Natsu since I came to the guild. In fact – he brought me to the guild. And for the last 2 and a half years I've been building a relationship slowly. One that I know is built on trust and respect. So don't think you can come along and just seduce him for yourself because you happened to save his life once."

"2 and a half years, huh?" Brandish said.

"What of it?"

"Well, it looks like my claim on the dragon slayer goes back farther than yours."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"That's all I'm going to say, until he remembers…"

Lucy scowled, even more worried now. Was this hussy bluffing, or did she really have something on Natsu. She would have to grill him about this later.

"Whatever may have happened before, don't think you can just waltz in and take my Natsu away…" she retorted. Then she got up.

"Done so soon?"

"This bath isn't enjoyable anymore… maybe it's the company."

"That's too bad. Baths are never as much fun without company. Maybe I can convince Natsu to join me."

"Don't you even try it!" Lucy growled at the other as she dried off.

"Don't worry. Despite your obvious opinion of me, I'm not that kind of girl. But don't worry. Once he remembers, I'm sure he'll be more than willing to do much more than take baths with me…"

 _She is so dead the moment I get a chance…_

 **~~~Natsu's POV~~~**

Natsu sat on the couch, pondering the day's events. It had been surprising enough that Brandish joined Fairy Tail after her earlier refusal. But he really couldn't explain why she seemed to take an interest in him.

But most of all, he didn't understand why it seemed so natural. Almost like this was the way it was supposed to be. He felt even more comfortable with her than Lucy.

And it helped that she had a nice ass, of course. He wouldn't mind seeing that a few more times.

 _Since when did I become a pervert?_ He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. He was just here to enjoy an evening with his nakama. Nothing more.

"Hey Natsu!" He was surprised as Lucy came over, sitting quite close to him on his left side.

"Umm… Hi Lucy."

Brandish squeezed into the space on his right side, nudging his hips over a little to fit herself. She didn't say a word as she relaxed against him.

"So… I was thinking Natsu…" Lucy said again. "You could sleep in my bed tonight…"

"Well where would you sleep?" Natsu asked, surprised.

"In the bed too, of course." Lucy smiled.

"Huh?" Natsu blinked. Lucy had a slight smirk on her face, though she seemed to be looking past Natsu at Brandish.

 _What's going on here…_ "Umm… I don't think that would be very appropriate, Lucy."

"Since when have you cared about that?" She asked, frustrated.

"Aye Sir!" Happy interjected. The cat had been quiet most of the night, much to Natsu's chagrin. It was almost like he was enjoying the dragon slayer's situation.

"Umm… I don't know. I guess, you know…" Natsu shrugged. "It doesn't seem right."

Lucy scowled. _What's going on… Lucy's been acting strange ever since Brandish showed up. What's gotten into her?_

"Fine, be that way." Lucy shifted away from him a little bit, pouting.

"Maybe I'll just sleep at my house tonight…" Natsu said, looking from Lucy to Brandish in surprise.

"You have a house Natsu?" Brandish asked.

"Yeah – well… Sort of." Natsu said. "It's just a little home we built a long time ago, but I call it home." He gave her a toothy grin.

"I'd love to see it sometime Natsu," Brandish smiled, an expression that he'd rarely seen since she joined the guild.

"Sure thing!" Natsu grinned. "I'll show you tomorrow. For now… why don't you and Lucy talk some things out?"

And with that, he and Happy headed back to their home.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Fairy Tail. I don't own the characters.

This is chapter 2 of my Natsu x Brandish fanfic. This may take precedence over the NaMiZa fic due to popularity.

Anyway, here's the story. R & R please! And thanks for the encouraging reviews on the first chapter!**

* * *

At the guild the next day, Brandish decided she needed to talk to Mirajane. She looked like somebody who could give good advice. And most importantly keep a secret.

"Mirajane, can I talk to you privately for a few minutes?"

"Sure," Mirajane said. "If you come into the stockroom for a minute. I'm reorganizing some of the shelves, but I'm sure nobody will bother us in there."

Once the two were in the stockroom, Brandish glared at the other mage. "Before we begin, if what we talk about here ever, **ever** gets back to me from another person…. I will personally make sure that you regret it more than any other decision you ever made in your life."

Mirajane flared visibly, but her voice was calm when she replied. "I'm good at keeping secrets."

"Good," Brandish said. "I need advice about something."

"Something like what?" Mira asked.

"Well…" Brandish sighed. "Two things, actually. And they're both related to the same person."

"Would this person happen to have pink hair and an affinity for brawling?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"He's like the only person you've talked to since you got here." Mirajane rolled her eyes. "So what are the problems?"

"Heh… They're kind of related. Natsu and I met a long time ago. I'm not going to tell you what happened or how it ended, but some things happened between us. The problem is, he doesn't seem to remember. At least, in all the times that I've seen him he's never indicated that he remembers."

"That seems pretty simple. Why not just ask him if he remembers?"

"I kind of want him to remember it himself…"

Mirajane shrugged. "Well, what's the other problem, and how do they relate?"

Brandish chewed on her lip. "I want a relationship with Natsu, but… well, it's kind of weird really – I know that I want a relationship, and I know how to treat someone that I want a relationship with, but…" She trailed off, not really wanting to reveal what she felt to the other mage.

"Your heart's not in it?"

Brandish was surprised. "How did you know?"

Mirajane smiled. "The way you interact with Natsu, it's obvious to everyone that you're interested in him. But for those of us who know how to look closer… Well, it lacks conviction, for lack of a better word."

"Huh." Brandish didn't realize it was so obvious. She also wasn't sure how to proceed. Would she have to try harder to talk to others in the guild so her interest wasn't so obvious? Or should she try harder to make it look like she was really feeling emotionally attached to the dragon slayer?

"So how are these things related, do you think?" Mirajane asked, breaking her out of her train of thought.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I know that they are…" She sighed. "It doesn't even make sense to me, so I'm not going to ask you to understand, but somehow, I just know that when he remembers what happened, I'll actually _feel_ the way I'm supposed to feel."

"You're right about that," Mirajane said. "It doesn't make sense."

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "I still think you should ask Natsu if he remembers. Maybe the memories are still there, and they just need a little stirring."

Brandish scowled slightly. "Even if I do decide that's the best route, when am I going to do that? That blonde is so clingy I'll never get a moment alone with him."

Mira smiled. "Maybe I can help with that."

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

"Oh, hi Brandish!" Natsu greeted the green-haired mage with a warm smile as she came and sat next to him.

"Hi Natsu," she replied, returning his smile. "I trust you slept well last night?"

"I always sleep well." He grinned at her. "And you?"

"Oh, Lucy's couch was exceedingly comfortable." Brandish replied. "But I must confess that I had a very fitful night."

Natsu felt his cheeks tinge as the other mage laid her head on his shoulder. He didn't know why he was reacting this way. He'd been at least this close to Mirajane, Lucy, Lisanna, Wendy, and even Erza countless times. So why was it different with Brandish?

Across the table, Lucy's face was starting to turn a little red, and his sensitive ears could hear her heart rate increasing. This was something else he didn't understand. He was often close with other girls in the guild. Why was Lucy so obviously annoyed by his treating Brandish as a member of his family?

"Lucy…" Mirajane called sweetly from the bar. Lucy didn't even respond.

"Lucy!" Mira called a little louder.

"Umm, Lucy…" Natsu said.

"What's that Natsu?!" Lucy seemed to perk up instantly.

"Mirajane's calling you." He replied. _Wow, she didn't even seem to hear Mirajane, but she responded instantly to me. What's going on here?_

"Oh… What do you want, Mirajane?"

Natsu wondered why she would call the take over mage by her full name instead of using the familiar shortened form that she usually did. Was there trouble between Lucy and Mira?

"I was hoping you would help me with something…"

"You need _my_ help?" Lucy sounded incredulous.

"Yeah." Mira smiled from the bar. "You see, I'm reading this book with my book club, and we decided to shake things up a bit this month. We've got 4 chapters left in the book, and without reading it we're supposed to write our own ending."

"So where do I come in?"

"Well, since you're a writer and all, I think your insight would be great! I was really hoping you would help me. If I go over the characters and key plot elements with you, do you think you could help me see where the author is going with this?"

"Why is it so important?"

"Well…" Mirajane blushed. "To be honest, we take things a little too seriously at our club… Each of us contributed 500 jewel to a bet, and there are 20 of us. The winner takes the whole pot, and…"

"And what?" Lucy was curious now.

"All the losers have to go to work topless for a week."

Lucy gaped. "You really do take things too seriously!"

"So if you help me, I'll give you half the winnings. Is 5,000 jewel worth an hour of your time?"

Lucy looked at Natsu and Brandish, then back at the bar. Finally she sighed. "Sure, I'll help you."

Natsu wasn't sure what was happening. Since when was Mira part of a book club? And why would she make a stupid bet like that? He watched as Lucy got up and went over to the bar. As she talked to Mira, he could see her casting frequent glances back at him and Brandish.

Eventually, she became engrossed in her conversation with Mira, and that's when Brandish spoke again.

"Hey Natsu," she said, still leaning against him. "Do you think you could show me your house now?"

"Uh…" Natsu looked back up at the counter, and was relieved to see that Lucy's attention was completely taken by the conversation with Mirajane now. "Sure, why not?"

 **~~~Lucy~~~**

"Thanks Lucy, you've been a great help!" Mira smiled, gathering the notes she'd been taking together.

"I'm just glad I was able to help you with something for a change." Lucy replied. "You've helped me with so much."

She stood up to return to her table with Natsu and Brandish, and then realized they were gone.

 _Shit. How long have I been talking to Mira? I was trying to remember to check every few minutes and make sure the hussy didn't try anything…_ Lucy glared at the empty space, then turned her glare to the woman across the bar.

"If I find out you had anything to do with this…"

"With what?" The silver-haired mage asked her. "Is something wrong?"

"You bet something's wrong! Here I am, talking to you for no more than 30 minutes, and I turn around to find that Natsu's off somewhere alone with that hussy."

"Hussy?" Mira asked, looking around the guild. "You mean Brandish?"

"Yes!" Lucy glared. "That woman is clearly trying to steal Natsu."

"Steal?..." Mira looked surprised. "Wow, Lucy. I didn't even know you and Natsu were together! Congratulations!"

"We're not!" Lucy almost yelled, her face turning red. Why was everybody starting to say that to her? She was infuriated by the question, though even more infuriated by the answer she had to give.

"Oh." Mirajane looked confused. "Then why is there a problem if Brandish seems to like him?"

"Because she's not right for him!" Lucy growled. Yeah, it was an excuse. But it was true. Brandish didn't really care about Natsu. She was just doing all this to get under Lucy's skin. Yeah, that had to be it. The girl was still carrying a grudge, and she was just trying to hurt Lucy by stealing her dragon slayer. Well she wasn't going to get away with it.

Lucy left the guild at a run. She had a pretty good idea where they'd gone.

 **~~~Brandish~~~**

When they got to Natsu's makeshift house, Brandish realized she didn't have any time to waste. She got right to the point.

"Natsu, do you remember me?"

"Huh?" The dragon slayer looked confused. "You're standing right in front of me. Of course I haven't forgotten you already."

"That's not what I mean!" _He really can be an idiot, can't he._ "Don't you remember meeting me before?"

"Before?"

"Yes… Like several years ago – around 10 years ago now?"

"10 years ago? I would've been like 10."

You weren't 10. You were 16."

"Huh? That was only like 3 or 4 years ago." Natsu said, scratching his head.

Brandish was confused. How could this event that she remembered so clearly as being over 10 years ago have been only 3 or 4 years earlier.

Then she remembered how a lot of guild members, including Natsu, had been gone for 7 years. _So it really was only 3 or 4 years ago for him… But shouldn't that make it all the easier for him to remember?_

"I forgot, you were frozen with your guild for 7 years, so it would only seem like a few years to you." Was all she said aloud. "But we did meet… Can't you remember meeting me?"

She watched as he frowned, concentrating on trying to pull the memories up. Then he shook his head.

"I'm sorry Brandish, but I can't remember. No matter how hard I try, when I think back to that time, it's like there's something missing. But the more I try to remember it, the further it slips away.."

"Oh," Brandish said, a little sadly. Would this be their relationship forever?

She was surprised when the dragon slayer pulled her into a hug. "I can't remember. But it feels like I should be able to." He said quietly. "I don't understand it myself. But being around you… being close to you… it _feels_ right. It feels familiar, like this is the way it's supposed to be."

"Natsu," she said, surprised. She wanted so desperately to love him. To love him as she had all those years ago. But something was blocking that emotion. It was like there was a wall there, and somehow she knew it could only be torn down if he remembered.

"Natsu, I have to confess something then…" She said. "I loved you back then. I remember how intensely I loved you. But now…" She sighed. "I… I want a relationship with you… I want to love you, but it's like there's something blocking it. And whatever it is, I know it will only go away if you can remember."

"It's ok…" Natsu smiled, his face only inches from hers. "I don't know how I can remember, though…"

Brandish smiled. "I swear I'll stay by you until you do."

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

Natsu's heart was racing. His lips were only inches away from hers, and somehow it just felt right. He wanted so badly to kiss her. Maybe… Maybe a kiss would help restore his memory?

Before he could complete the action, Brandish was pulled roughly away from him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, slut?!" An enraged Lucy stood behind Brandish. Her eyes were glaring daggers at both of them.

"It was my fault, Lucy," he said before Brandish could respond. The last thing he needed was the blonde getting any angrier at the other mage. "Don't blame her."

Lucy's eyes burned into him. She looked like she wanted to say something, but instead she turned back to Brandish. "I'm keeping a close eye on you," she growled as she walked away.

"Be my guest," Brandish replied. "Don't expect it to make a difference, though."

Natsu sighed as Lucy glared at the other girl again. "Why don't we get back to the guild?" He needed to let off some steam, and he could imagine the perfect black-haired face to be the recipient of his wrath.

"Good idea," Lucy said, still glaring at Brandish. "I doubt she'll try anything funny there."

Brandish just stood up and brushed herself off. And they departed for the guild.

As soon as they were inside, Natsu grabbed an empty beer mug from in front of Macao and launched it at Gray, who was sitting 5 tables away. It hit him square in the back of the head.

"Ow! Who did that?" Gray turned around. "I should've known it was you, flame freak!" He growled, getting up and glaring at the dragon slayer.

"You gonna' do something about it, ice perv?" Natsu asked as Gray's clothes hit the floor.

"Fuck yeah I am." The ice mage, now stripped down to his boxers, charged.

 **~~~Brandish~~~**

Brandish watched in amusement as the guild erupted into a full-scale brawl. The dragon slayer did know how to keep things lively around here. She was careful to stay in a corner, well out of the way of the main event. Anything that came close to her was suddenly reduced drastically in size, returning to its normal size only once it had safely bounced off her or missed her.

After the brawl was over, it seemed like at least half the tables and chairs were broken. "Get the spares," Makarov said to some of the younger guild members, and they rushed out. Soon the old tables and chairs had been cleared, with new ones standing in their place.

Brandish sat down next to Natsu, who had taken a seat at one of the tables. "Feel better now?" She asked.

"Yeah!" The dragon slayer grinned at her. "Nothing like a good brawl to lighten the mood."

Just then Lucy sat down across the table from him. "Natsu," she said. "I've been thinking… it's time to go on that quest to find Aquarius's key. You're still coming with me like you promised, right?"

 _Wow, you're really pulling out every trick, aren't you?_ Brandish thought as she heard Natsu answer, "Umm… sure, Lucy. A promise is a promise after all."

"Good!" Lucy smirked triumphantly.

"In that case, I'll be coming too." Brandish said, her expression never changing.

"There's no reason for you to come with us!" Lucy retorted.

"There are plenty of reasons. Aquarius is my friend too, you know. And it'll be a great opportunity to see your magic and Natsu-kun's magic." She threw in the kun just to see the reaction on Lucy's face, which was extremely amusing. "But most of all, I swore that I'm not leaving Natsu until he remembers when we first met."

"Well I think I have some say in this too!" Lucy glared. "And I say you're not coming."

"I have some say in this too," Natsu said. "And if you want me to come with you, she's coming too."

"Natsu…" Lucy turned to the dragon slayer, anger evident in her eyes. "You have to come. You promised you would."

"And I plan on keeping that promise, but only under the condition that Brandish is allowed to come with us."

Lucy turned away, and when she turned back to the dragon slayer there were tears in her eyes. "Why, Natsu?..."

Natsu sighed. "All I can tell you is that it feels right…"

"We leave tomorrow at 8. Don't be late," Lucy said, before storming out of the guild.

Brandish almost felt a little sorry for the blonde mage. Almost. But, after all, Lucy had 2 and a half years to express her feelings to Natsu and never did. So it wasn't like she hadn't had her chance.


	3. Chapter 3

** I don't own Fairy Tail... or the characters.

Alright, so with this chapter done, I should really devote some time to my other story before people stop reading it. Anyway, much will be revealed here.

Enjoy, and R&R as always**

* * *

As they were leaving the guild to go their separate ways, Natsu suddenly acted on impulse. He grabbed Brandish and kissed her, quickly but passionately, on the lips.

"Where did that come from so suddenly?" Brandish asked as he broke away. She looked surprised and confused, but (thank Mavis) not angry.

"It was stupid…" Natsu said. "I hoped maybe if I kissed you, I would remember."

"Baka." She slapped him playfully on the back of the head. "That stuff only works in fantasies."

 _Still, it feels right. Even if I don't remember, I somehow know her…_ "Alright, see you tomorrow, Brandish."

"Yep. See you tomorrow Natsu!"

"Natsu!" He looked up to see Happy flying toward him from town.

"Happy! How was your date with Carla?"

"It was great!" Happy said. "Carla wants to do it again tomorrow!"

"Ok…" Natsu said. "Well, I'm leaving tomorrow on a long journey with Lucy and Brandish. But if you want to stay behind, that's ok."

"Oh…" Happy looked sad. "I don't want to stay behind. I want to go with you Natsu! But I want to be with Carla too…"

"Hmm…" Suddenly Natsu grinned. "Well go ask Wendy if she can come!"

"Really?" Happy grinned.

"Why not?" Natsu replied.

Happy took off in the direction of Wendy and Carla's apartment.

 **~~~Brandish~~~**

She was there when Natsu arrived, about 5 minutes before the appointed time. Right behind him came a short, blue-haired mage who looked to be about 14, and the two flying cats. Happy and Carla, if she remembered right.

"Hi Natsu," she greeted him, not bothering to say a word to the others.

"Hello Brandish." He said. Then he stepped aside so she could see Wendy. "This is Wendy. You haven't officially met her yet, but she's coming with us on our trip."

"Hello Brandish." Wendy said, blushing.

Brandish swept her up and down with her eyes. She was too young to be a romantic rival, but it was certain that she felt something for the dragon slayer.

"What's your relationship with Natsu?" She asked bluntly.

Wendy blushed furiously. "I… He's like an older brother to me," she said after a few moments. "I really love and respect him." Then she blushed again and waved her hands in front of her wildly. "Not in a romantic way, though."

Brandish couldn't help smiling a little at the younger dragon slayer. Who returned the smile shyly.

"Alright!" Lucy came in. "Time to get going."

She then noticed Wendy and Carla. "Oh, Wendy. What are you doing here?"

"Umm… Natsu… well, specifically Happy… asked us to come along. I hope that's alright…"

"Of course it's alright, Wendy." Lucy smiled at the girl. "I'm happy to have you and Natsu along. And Happy and Carla too, of course."

"Oh… Thank you," Wendy said, though she looked over at Brandish.

Brandish just smiled at her. The bluenette had obviously caught the exclusion of her name from the list that Lucy was happy to have along. But it didn't really bother her. She could honestly care less what Lucy thought about her presence.

"So, where should we go first?" Lucy said, pulling a large folder out of her pack. "I've brought maps of all the charted areas of Fiore to start."

"Hm…" They started poring over the maps, but nothing really stuck out to Brandish right away. "You can rule out the areas around the major cities," Lucy said with a smile. "I've had our friends from other guilds keeping an eye out for me."

Brandish pulled a large, thin book of maps from the folder. "So you don't even have a strategy to find this key?"

Lucy glared. "It could be anywhere. A strategy doesn't do much good when you can't even narrow down the area."

Brandish shrugged, opening the booklet of maps. Suddenly a folded up map fell out of the book. Brandish picked it up and unfolded it, looking over the map.

"I think we need to go here," she said, pointing to a small town by the name of Vivicus. The town was in the northwestern area of Fiore.

Natsu was the first to look, and he nodded his head in agreement. "I think so too." He said.

Lucy laughed. "Wow, and here I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"What do you mean?" Brandish asked. The comment was obviously addressed to her, since Lucy clearly didn't think of Natsu as smart.

"This map is over 5 years old," Lucy said. "I was using it as a bookmark because it's obsolete. That town doesn't even exist anymore." She pulled out another map, showing them the blank spot. "It's been abandoned for 2 years."

"We still need to go there," Brandish said.

"You are so… infuriating!" Lucy growled. "Can't you just admit you were wrong?"

Before Brandish could answer, Natsu cut in. "No," he said. "She's right. We need to go there. I don't know why, but I can feel it's the right place to go."

"Does she have you under some mind control spell?!" Lucy practically yelled. "You don't have to agree with every hair-brained idea she has!"

"I'm not agreeing with her because she said it." Natsu said. "Whether you believe it or not, I just know that this town has some importance for our journey."

"Help me out here Wendy," Lucy said. "Tell them there's no point in going to an abandoned village."

Wendy turned red. "I… I'm sorry Lucy…" she stuttered. "But… If it's important to Natsu-san, it's important to me too."

"I don't believe this… Carla, talk some sense into the girl."

The white cat shrugged and said, "I don't see what's wrong with going there, if that's what everyone wants."

"Great," Lucy said. "I get to start this important quest by going to some stupid abandoned village. Is there any other pointless place you think we should visit on the way?"

Brandish just looked at her. "After we visit Vivicus, we can search wherever you want."

Lucy gave a sigh of resignation. "I'm going to hold you to that."

 **~~~Lucy~~~**

Lucy growled as they trudged through the overrun forest path, 2 days after making the decision. It had been a long journey. First a train ride that lasted the better part of a day. Then a coach, a stay in a small inn that barely had anything worthy of being called rooms. Then a day's trek through the forest. She could finally see the first run down building through the trees.

A few minutes later they were in the abandoned town. Small, wooden huts lined the road, with a couple of stone buildings. Everything was covered in vines and weeds. The only thing that sort of stood out was a large stone temple on the far side of the village.

"Well, here we are," she said, mustering all the sarcasm she could into her voice. "Vivicus. The thriving town that everyone's just dying to visit."

It was as if Natsu and Brandish hadn't even heard her. They were staring at the old stone temple at the end of the road. Wordlessly, the two broke into a run, headed for the building.

"Hey!" Lucy ran after them, closely followed by Wendy, Carla, and Happy." Where are you going?!"

When they got to the church they stopped suddenly, and Lucy very nearly ran into them. She scowled. "What's the big idea?"

Natsu and Brandish still seemed to be ignoring her. They looked at each other, then, simultaneously, they walked up to the old building and pushed on the doors. They creaked open slowly.

"Is it even safe to go in there?!" Lucy yelled. But she still followed the pair as they went inside. They seemed to know exactly where they were going, opening a hidden trap-door and going down a staircase into a large vault under the temple. Lucy gasped when she got far enough down to see into the room.

In the center of the room was a large sphere that almost looked like liquid, with red and green lights swirling together. As the two approached the sphere, a voice came, seemingly from the sphere.

"Let what was taken now be restored."

Immediately the light from the sphere seemed to shoot into the two mages, who were immobilized in an upward position. Lucy heard Wendy gasp behind her, and herself gaped as she watched the two enveloped in the swirling light.

"What's going on?" she asked aloud. She tried to approach to find out, but there seemed to be an invisible barrier blocking her.

 **~~~FLASHBACK START~~~**

 **~~~Brandish~~~**

"Great… I just had to volunteer for this scouting mission to Fiore. It'll be easy! What could happen? Sure, Brandish." A 16 year old mage walked through the woods, her hands bound with anti-magic handcuffs.

Ahead of her, the leader of the small group guffawed. "They're gonna' love this one. Got a great ass on 'er, and the boobs are already well developed. Better warn 'em to keep the handcuffs on 'er though. She's got a fair amount of magic power."

"How long till we rendezvous with the others?" Another said.

"We should reach the rendezvous point in another 20 minutes, if we keep walking."

"Maybe we could have a little fun with her before then," suggested another.

"Nobody touches her." The leader growled. "Our clients pay good money for _virgin_ slaves. If she gets defiled before she gets to them, we lose our money, and whoever's responsible loses his life."

"Aaww… She could still suck us off, right?" Said another, his hands going to his pants as he turned toward her with a lewd expression.

Whatever the leader was going to say was interrupted.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A large cone of fire burst through their ranks, taking out most of the escort group. Only two remained.

"Who's there?" One of Brandish's captors grabbed her arms, holding her in front of him. The other squared off in the direction of the blast.

A pink-haired teenager emerged from the trees. He looked to be about the same age as Brandish, with a well muscled chest that was partially revealed by his black vest. His hands were wrapped in fire, and he had a fierce expression on his face.

"Heh – it's just a kid!" Her captor quickly tied her to a tree, moving up to face the teenager with the leader. "You're messing with the wrong people, kid. Now turn around and go home to your mama before you get hurt."

But the teenager just looked at them, fire in his eyes. "You people are despicable." He ground out each word. "Making a living by selling your fellow human beings… How can you even call yourself humans?"

"Alright, you just lost your chance to run peaceably. I'm gonna' make you pay for that!"

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!"

When the finishing attack was over, pink-haired teen looked over the two opponents, who were both knocked out on the ground.

"Well, that was easy," he said as he came over to release Brandish.

"Thanks… What's your name?" Brandish asked, shyly.

"Natsu. I'm a wizard with Fairy Tail!" Natsu offered a toothy grin. "What's your name?"

"I'm Brandish." She said. "Nice to meet you, Natsu."

 **~~~Natsu, about 3 months later (still in flashback)~~~**

"Mmm… I don't ever want to get up." Natsu said.

What had started as a simple rescue had quickly evolved into something much more. The dragon slayer was now laying on a blanket in a makeshift shelter, just on the outskirts of a village. Brandish was snuggled against him with her head on his chest.

She smiled, flipping up to straddle him and leaning down to kiss his lips. "But we have to eventually… We've been out here for 3 months. People will be missing us at home."

"Oh yeah," Natsu said. "There is that."

Still straddling him, she kissed him again, beginning to take off her pants.

Natsu kissed her back, but he reached down and grabbed her arms.

"Natsu…. I want this…" she said, still straddling him.

"I do to. But not like this." Natsu said. He sat up, looking deep into her eyes. "Come back to Fairy Tail with me Brandish. I know they would love you there…"

She looked away. "I already told you I can't do that yet Natsu. There's something I have to take care of first."

Natsu frowned, running his hand gently through her hair. "I understand how you feel… but don't you think you've pursued your grudge long enough?"

Brandish looked down. "I can't let it go, Natsu… But I want to do this before we separate." She reached for his pants, but he pulled her hand away.

"Not like this." He said again, resting his hand against her cheek. "If we really love each other, we'll find each other again someday… If we do, I'll do whatever you want then."

"And when we do, I'll come to Fairy Tail with you," the green-haired mage smiled, nuzzling her cheek into his hand.

After a couple more minutes, the two of them got up. They walked slowly into the village and stopped outside a large, stone temple.

"Do we really have to do this?..." Natsu asked, as they looked at the door.

Brandish looked at him. "I don't want to do it anymore than you do, Natsu. But I'll never have the heart to carry out my mission otherwise… "

Natsu looked at Brandish, feeling like his heart was breaking for her. He wanted so badly to convince her to give up her mission. To come back with him to Fairy Tail. He knew she could be happy there with him and his guild.

But gramps always said you had to let people make their own choices. Even if their choices hurt. But dear Mavis, did it have to hurt so much? Mustering all his strength, and took hold of her hand.

"Let's get it over with then…" And the two walked into the temple, hand in hand.

 **~~~Brandish~~~**

It broke her heart to see the one she loved so torn up, but she couldn't just abandon her mission. She needed to find the daughter of that evil woman Layla and make her suffer for what Layla had done to her mother. But after only 3 months with Natsu, she knew she wouldn't have the resolve to carry out her vengeance when the day arrived. That was why they had to do this.

"So you really are going through with it?" Vivia, the high priestess of the temple in Vivicus, asked them.

Brandish looked at Natsu before they both looked to the priestess. "Yes." They said in unison.

"You won't remember me telling you this afterward, but you should know that this spell is very difficult to reverse. Neither one of you will remember this ritual until you return to this temple together. And you won't return to this temple unless the name of this city is recalled to your mind first, when you're both together. Do you understand this?"

"Yes," they said again in unison.

"Then let us start…" She led them down through a secret trapdoor, into a large, vaulted room under the temple. Once there, she began drawing a magic circle.

"In accordance with the desire of your hearts, I grant you your wish… Brandish and Natsu, step forward."

They did as they were instructed.

"According to the wishes of these two, their love will be forgotten in part. One will carry the memories in her head, the other only in his heart. What one's mind remembers, the other's forgets. What one heart holds onto, the other releases."

She handed each of them one of the sacred blades of the temple. "Now, you must seal the spell."

Looking at each other, each took the knife, pushing it deep into their forearms, and drawing a line down the middle. Then they put their forearms together and held them over the magic circle, allowing their mingled blood to drip down.

"What is offered up here cannot be regained, unless both stand again in this very place." The priestess intoned. Then there was a blinding flash of light, and then unconsciousness.

 **~~~END FLASHBACK~~~**

When the light faded, the two mages collapsed into each others' arms, spent. Brandish started crying into Natsu's chest.

"Forgive me, Natsu… All this time I've been so hard on you for not remembering me… and it's my fault…"

"We both made this decision," Natsu whispered, and she felt his hot tears on her head. "But our hearts found each other again… You can't blame yourself."

"But in the end, my mission was all a big misunderstanding…" She wept, feeling absolutely miserable. "I could've gone with you back then… it would've saved us so much pain…"

"I don't regret a minute of it, since it was for you…" Natsu kissed the top of her head. "We're together now, Brandish. We'll always be together now. What's in the past is done with… we must look toward the future."

"Look toward the future…" She tilted her head up to look into his eyes, searching them. She didn't see any judgment. She didn't see any anger or hurt. Just a deep, profound love and a hint of sadness.

"I don't want you to cry, Brandish," he told her, brushing a strand of tear-stained hair from her face. "I don't ever want to make you cry again…"

"It's not your fault baka," she said as she buried her face in his chest again, clinging tightly to him.

 **~~~Lucy~~~**

Lucy seethed as she watched the pair, knowing there had to be something wrong. That bitch must be controlling Natsu, somehow.

She was surprised to hear Wendy sobbing beside her.

"So you loved him too, eh Wendy?" she said. "Don't worry… I'm sure whatever spell the bitch has him under, Natsu will come out of it eventually."

Wendy shook her head violently. "It's not like that at all." She said. "I don't know why… I think it's because of Grandeeney's sky magic. But… That sphere contained some of Natsu-san's memories, and I was able to see them…"

"His memories?" Lucy gaped, remembering the frequent references Brandish had made to Natsu remembering her.

"I'm just so happy for them, Lucy!" The bluenette smiled through her tears. "After all this time, they've found each other again."

Lucy's heart wasn't ready to admit defeat. Surely the last 2 and a half years that she'd been building her own relationship with the dragon slayer counted for something. Surely she had more sex appeal that that blubbering bimbo in the middle of the room…

 **~~~Wendy~~~**

She couldn't stop crying… even though three months had flashed in her mind – through Natsu's eyes – in only an hour, the memories were packed with intense emotion. There was so much joy. So much love. So much sadness and heartbreak.

She could only imagine what Natsu was feeling now as she watched him, remaining a rock for his woman. On the outside he hadn't changed a bit.

"Natsu, I'm not going to forgive you for making Wendy cry!" Carla yelled.

Natsu didn't seem to hear. Wendy held up her hand before Carla could say anything more. "Carla, don't… Natsu didn't make me cry."

Carla looked at Wendy. "What happened between them?"

Wendy flushed, her tears slowly abating. "I can't tell you that Carla… It was something I wasn't supposed to see. I'm sure Natsu will tell us what he thinks we need to know in his time."

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

Even though he knew why he couldn't remember her now, he was still mad at himself for forgetting Brandish. Even though she put a brave face on it, he could see that it hurt her when she came back and he couldn't remember anything.

But right now there was only one thing that was important, and that was that they were together again. And whole again. It finally made sense to him why, over the last 4 years, he couldn't give his heart to any of his guild mates, even though he was so close to so many of them. Even though his mind couldn't remember, his heart always knew where it belonged. He could find some comfort in that thought, at least.

He could feel the sobs of the other mage slowly receding against his soaked chest. He tilted her face up again so that he could see her.

"You've never looked more beautiful," he whispered to her as he leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss. "I love you, Brandish…"

"And I love you, Natsu Dragneel…" The green-haired mage replied.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. They all belong to Hiro Mashima.

I should mention (for those who are wondering) that in the last chapter the slavers caught Brandish while she was sleeping, which is why they were able to overpower her so easily while Natsu was able to overpower them so easily. I meant to include that in the storyline, but somehow didn't make it into the flashback.

So anyway, here's chapter 4**

* * *

"Natsu, I need to talk to you."

"Sure, what's up Lucy?"

"Privately."

Natsu looked at Brandish. "What do you need to say that she can't hear?"

"Oh, you two have been cuddling and kissing non-stop since that temple. You'll have the rest of your lives to do that, so I'm sure you can spare a few seconds."

"Umm… Ok, I guess," Natsu sighed, getting up from the ground where they'd been sitting.

Once they were a good distance from the rest of the group, Lucy turned to Natsu. "Really Natsu? These past two and a half years I thought we had an understanding. And now Brandish pops into your life and you're suddenly all lovey-dovey with her? Don't the last 2 and a half years mean anything?"

Natsu sighed. He was afraid this was where she was going with this. "Lucy, I like you as a person. As a member of my family. And I always will. But we never had that kind of an understanding. Sure, there were times when I thought our relationship might go further if I let it, but I never had those kind of feelings for you."

"Oh really?" Lucy said. "What about all the times you came to my house? Ate my food? Bathed in my tub? Is that something you would do with just anybody?!"

"Yes," Natsu said honestly. "Anybody who is part of my family."

"That's not normal, Natsu." Lucy huffed. "I would think even you would realize that."

"Well, sure I realized it, but Fairy Tail's not normal, so I thought you understood that. I mean, Erza and Gray would come to your house plenty."

Lucy growled. "Alright… have it your way then. But if that's all our time together really means to you, I don't need you on this quest."

"Lucy, just because I'm in love with Brandish doesn't mean you're not still family. I want to help you on this quest!"

"Well I'm telling you I don't want both of you on this quest. Either she stays by herself or you both do." Lucy said loudly.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Natsu said, and without another word he headed back to the group.

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

"Come on Brandish, Happy. We're going home," Natsu said. He knew they didn't need an explanation, since Lucy's loud announcement of her feelings about the quest made his reasons clear to everybody.

"What should we do," Wendy asked Carla as Lucy stalked back to the group.

"I only came for Happy," Carla said.

"You should go back to the guild too, traitor." Lucy glared at the blue-haired girl. "I can't believe you'd side with her and not with me."

"You didn't see what I saw." Wendy said, tears coming to her eyes.

Natsu stared at Wendy, "what you saw?"

Wendy blushed. "I'm not sure why – probably because of Grandeeney's magic – but for some reason, when your memories came back I saw them."

"Oh," Natsu blushed.

"But I still would've been happy for you," she added, looking a bit flustered.

"Like I said, you're traitors. All of you." Lucy said. "I don't need any traitors on this quest."

She shouldered her pack and stalked off.

"Man, she's really taking this hard," Natsu said.

"Should we go after her?" Brandish asked.

"Nah… give it a little time. She'll either cool it and come back to the guild or find the damn key herself. Either way, she'll be back eventually."

 **~~~Back at the guild~~~**

"Wow, Brandish, you seem a little different," Mirajane said with a grin. "Something happened to jog Natsu's memory?" she added quietly.

"Yeah," Brandish blushed. "It turns out there was a good reason he couldn't remember…"

"Where's Lucy?" Erza asked loudly.

"She sent us all back after Natsu-nii and Brandish-san got together," Wendy said. She told Natsu that he was welcome to continue, but Brandish wasn't."

Erza sat down at the table next to Wendy, while Brandish quickly reclaimed her spot next to the dragon slayer, resting her head on his shoulder. "So what happened, exactly? You two are awfully friendly considering you've barely known each other a few days."

Natsu looked at Brandish, then motioned Mirajane over, knowing she would want to hear this too. Together, they told their story, leaving out a few unnecessary details.

"Aawww," Erza and Mira said together when it was finished. "That's so cute."

Natsu blushed fiercely and muttered something that even Wendy couldn't quite hear. Brandish just smiled, squeezing the dragon slayer's arm. "I guess in a way we should thank Lucy, since without her quest for Aquarius we never would've found that city."

"And by the way," Brandish whispered to Natsu, "I'm so going to hold you to that promise tonight."

Wendy blushed, her super-sensitive ears picking up the comment. The others just smiled.

"You know," Natsu said, "it's kind of weird when you think about it."

"What's that?" Erza asked.

"Lucy. I mean, she got all offended that I'm with Brandish now, but in all the time that she's been with the guild she's consistently rebuffed any attempt I made to get close to her…"

"I suppose that's true," Erza said. "It is kind of weird. You'd think if you were that important to her she would've encouraged you to stay at her place more rather than constantly pushing you away."

"I know I would've," Mirajane giggled. "But then again, I always said it would take someone else hooking up with Natsu for Lucy to admit she had feelings for him."

"Kind of like she just thought he'd wait around till she was ready to pick him up," Erza said.

"Or until she found someone better," Mira said.

Wendy blushed a little. "That's kind of mean," she said.

"I suppose it is…" Erza said with a sigh. "I'm sure Lucy had every intention of eventually telling Natsu how she felt."

"And letting him choose his own path for who he wanted to be with," added Mira. "It's obvious she thought of him as family."

"I'm kind of tired," Natsu announced. He got up, then looked at Brandish. "My place?"

She smiled. "Your place is as good as any."

After the two left, Erza and Mirajane started their discussion in earnest.

"I heard Natsu asked her out before and she turned him down," Mira said.

"I heard she told someone she was keeping him around just in case she needed a fallback plan," Erza said.

"How could she expect him to just stick around when she always acted like he was the last person in the world she would want to be with?"

"Why would she expect him to think of her as more than any of the rest of us, who he's known the whole time he was in the guild?"

"Yeah, seriously. I mean, if anyone really had a claim to his heart based on time spent, it would be you or me."

"Or Lisanna," Erza added.

"I suppose, but she kind of cheated by sucking him in before he even knew what love was about."

"True. Then again, I'm surprised he knew what love was about when he met Brandish."

Both girls laughed.

"I think I'm going now…" Wendy said.

"Ummm – can I go home with you tonight?" Happy asked.

"Happy! What are you still doing here?"

"Well," the blue exceed looked down. "Natsu and Brandish were all over each other as soon as we left the guild, so I figured I might not want to be around tonight…"

Erza and Mirajane both looked at the exceed and giggled.

"It's ok Happy, you can stay at my place tonight."

"Thanks Wendy! You're a goddess."

"But I swear if I hear you and Carla again, you're both sleeping at Natsu's next time."

"You heard that?" Both exceeds blushed deeply.

"I'm a dragon slayer, remember? I hear all kinds of things I'm not supposed to."

 **~~~At Natsu's house~~~**

"Mmmm…" Brandish pushed Natsu back onto the blanket they'd spread out. Both decided trying activities on a hammock might be a bit… well… shaky.

"Are you sure you want this?" Natsu asked the beautiful mage, cupping her cheek gently in his hand.

"I'm sure," she said, then leaned down and whispered huskily in his ear, "I've been waiting 10 years for this after all…"

Natsu gave a feral growl as he reached for her pants, his lips locking with hers in a passionate embrace.

 **~~~Later~~~**

"Wow… I guess your stamina's not just for magic," Brandish whispered, laying her head on the dragon slayer's chest.

"We only went four hours," the dragon slayer said. "Is that a long time?"

"Well, it's honestly my first time, but yeah. 4 hours is an insanely long time for most guys…"

"Oh. I had no idea," Natsu shrugged. "Is that a long time for you?"

"Well, I may have a little trouble walking tomorrow," Brandish said lazily, "but I feel great right now."

"Huh. Ok." Natsu said, sounding a little confused. "If you say so, I guess."

"Baka," she smacked the back of his head playfully.

Then they both passed out.

 **~~~Wendy's house~~~**

"It's your fault she heard us last time," Carla hissed.

"How does that work? You were the one who couldn't keep quiet."

"You were the one that couldn't wait till she was asleep."

"How was I supposed to know she could hear us on the opposite side of the apartment?"

"She's a dragon slayer. Aren't you buddies with a dragon slayer?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

*Several minutes later*

"Are we really going to fight all night?"

"I think I'm done fighting. Go see if Wendy's still awake."

"I think you should go."

"You live here."

"You're better at sneaking around."

"Wendy might be weirded out if she's still awake and she sees me."

"That's why you don't let her see you."

"I still think you should go."

"You're the man, take responsibility."

"I'm an exceed, not a man."

"You know what I mean!""

Wendy called out, "You know if you stop arguing about whether or not I'm asleep, I just might fall asleep faster!"

"There, see? You're keeping Wendy awake."

"I'm keeping her awake? You're the one who can't stay quiet for more than 5 seconds."

"Can too. I'm just responding to you."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

Wendy rolled over, giggling. _People in the guild probably wouldn't believe me if I told them the most complicated relationship in the guild was Happy and Carla…_

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

"Wow, I didn't know you could cook." Natsu grinned as he dug into a steak and egg breakfast.

"Who said I could cook? I had Mirajane cook these up for you while you slept in this morning."

"Is that right?" Natsu tore into another plate of steak and eggs.

"Yeah… She said something about making them extra special for you… Revenge for some prank you pulled on her recently?"

"Huh?" Natsu stopped chewing, eyeing the food suspiciously. "Shit. I can't even remember what I did."

"I wonder what she did to it," he said, turning a little pale as he stared at the food. "It tastes good… you don't think she poisoned it do you?"

He stopped as he heard a little giggle. Brandish was covering her mouth, amusement in her eyes.

"You did cook it, didn't you."

"Of course I cooked it baka," she giggled. "You were up before me this morning, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Wow, you really had me going."

Brandish sat down across the table from him, grabbing her steak and eggs. For a few minutes everything was quiet, as Natsu wolfed down about 2 more plates and Brandish ate her eggs slowly and neatly.

When they were finished, Natsu pulled her outside. "Come on. I've got something to show you."

"But I've got to clean up, Natsu," she protested.

"That can wait," Natsu grinned. "I've been keeping this a secret from everyone… even Happy."

They reached a little hill outside with several large trees that all had a tangle of roots above ground. Natsu reached into the tangled roots and pulled out a large steel box. He then pulled a small key out and opened it.

"Here you go," he said, handing the box to her. She looked inside to see an old piece of paper, a newer piece of paper, and a lot of money.

"What is this?" She asked as she reached in, taking out the old piece of paper first. When she saw what was on it, tears came to her eyes.

 **~~~FLASHBACK START~~~**

It was only 2 and a half months since they'd met, but Brandish already knew this was the person she wanted to be with for life. They'd already all but promised themselves to each other. She could already see the wedding day, with all their best friends and family there to celebrate their love. And what color would their babies' hair be? They would be adorable, no question, but would they get her green hair, or their father's pink hair? Maybe they would get a mix. Green hair with pink highlights? Kawaii!

"Brandish?" Natsu's voice pulled her out of her daydreaming.

"What's that?" She asked, focusing on him once again.

"What kind of a house do you want?"

"Well…" She found a piece of parchment paper and a pen in her belongings. "I want a nice big house, with lots of space for our children to play. We'll have a big living room here," she drew a box on the paper, with a door opening out to it. "And of course, a big dining room with a large table to fit all the children…" she drew that as well.

"All the children?" Natsu looked a little shell shocked at this.

"Oh yes… I plan to have lots of children. I could be satisfied with 6 I think, but 10 or 12 would be even better. Just not 13, because that's unlucky. I'd be ok with 14, though."

He didn't look too sure. _It's just because he's young. He'll come around when we're older_. "Anyway, as I was saying, we'll have a really big family room here." She drew another large room. "With a staircase to the second story here." She drew that in as well. "And then the kitchen over here by the dining room. It'll be a big kitchen, of course, with lots of storage space for food, dishes, and anything else we might need in there. And then if we put a bathroom here, and another one over here, we'll have just enough room for a nice big library here. And I think that's it for the first floor."

"And then upstairs…" she started on the second floor. "We'll have the master bedroom, which will be the biggest, of course. When our children are young, they can share rooms, but when they get older we'll have to give them each their own room of course, so we'll put four other rooms and 2 bathrooms on this floor, as well as a nursery right next to the master bedroom." She quickly drew those rooms in.

"And then here, on the third floor, we'll add six more bedrooms, so we have plenty of space for guests. And of course, a couple bathrooms too. And then we'll have a nice little balcony here that we can sit on when it's nice out. And maybe a little snack cupboard for when we want to sneak something that we don't want the kids getting into…"

"Wow, you've really put a lot of thought into this…" Natsu grinned. "I'd be happy with just a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Everything else can be done outside."

"Baka," she smacked him on the back of the head playfully.

 **~~~END FLASHBACK~~~**

Tears dripped from her face onto the old parchment, causing the already fading ink to run even more in places. With a trembling hand, she pulled out the newer paper. It was dated from less than a year ago, and had an architectural blueprint based on the house she had drawn so long ago. On the top was a number, along with a signature. Her voice shook as she spoke.

"Is that?..." She didn't dare finish, as though by saying the words she risked being wrong.

"A pricing quote," The dragon slayer confirmed. "I got a new one every year… I never knew why. I just knew it was important for some reason… And I always put a little extra money in here when I could, and now there's more than enough to pay for this, and buy a nice piece of property."

"Oh Natsu!" Brandish cried, dropping the documents back into the box and clinging to the dragon slayer, tears streaming down her cheeks. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

"That's my line," Natsu said, stroking her hair gently as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I may be an idiot, but I sure got myself one hell of a girl."

"Baka." She whispered into his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said.

 **~~~Back at the guild~~~**

"Hey everyone," Lucy said as she made a grand entrance. "I'm looking for someone to keep me company on my quest to find Aquarius's key. Anyone want to come?"

The guild was silent. Slowly, a hand went up on a table where the new joins liked to hang out. "I'll come Lucy," the kid's name was Haiku, just like the poetry format. And he wasn't known for having exceptional magic power.

"Anyone else? Erza? Mira? Lisanna?"

"Sorry Lucy, I thought Natsu and Brandish were going to help you with that one."

"They were, but things changed. I don't need them around anymore, so I'm offering this to someone else. Surely there's someone out there who wants to come with." She winked at Laxus and Gildarts, raising a leg onto the table so that her short skirt rode up just below her ass.

"I'll come Lucy…" Haiku again.

"Fine. Get your damn stuff." She huffed, pulling her leg down off the table. At least one new guy was better than nobody.

Just then the door burst open, and Natsu came in, carrying Brandish bridal style.

"Put me down baka," she demanded, smacking him on the back of the head. "When I said I was a little sore, I didn't mean I needed you to carry me."

Heads turned all around the guild, and the green-haired mage blushed as she realized what she'd just said.

"Why Natsu…" Gildarts said. "I'm so proud of you boy! Come give the old man a hug!"

"Pervert," grumbled Natsu, though he complied anyway.

Over at the bar, Cana was looking at the dragon slayer with a lustful expression. Gildarts caught her, and instantly punched the dragon slayer, sending him into a table several feet away.

"What was that for?" Natsu yelled as he got up.

"That was for making Cana think naughty thoughts about you." Gildarts said. "But good job!"

In the meantime, the girls were crowding Brandish.

"How was it? Was it really good? Did he pressure you? Did he go too fast? Were you able to get off? Was it your first time?"

"It was my first time, and it was amazing…" she looked dreamily at the dragon slayer, who was now getting into a fist fight with Gray. "And no, he didn't pressure me. Natsu's not that kind of guy…"

"Aawww…" All the girls said at once.

"Oh yeah, gramps!" Natsu called out. "Brandish and I are going to town. We'll probably be gone for most of the day."

"Alright. What are you doing in town?" Makarov asked.

"It's a secret." Natsu grinned. "But you'll find out in due time."

Lucy fumed silently as she watched all this, then grabbed Haiku and started dragging him out. "Alright Haiku. Time to go." She said.

And they were off, in search of Aquarius.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Fairy Tail. I don't own the characters. They all belong to Hiro Mashima.

Only chapter 5, and I got guest haters already xD. Ah well haters are everywhere in life. Especially for people who like to think outside the boxes that are built for them.

Anyway, on to chapter 5. Hope you enjoy it! (P.S., If you're a NaLu fan, don't read)**

* * *

It had been almost 3 months since Natsu and Brandish returned to the guild. And tonight was a special night. It was now 11 years to the day since the pink-haired dragon slayer had rescued her from those slavers.

Of course, she didn't expect him to remember that. When she suggested a date that night, he'd been somewhat surprised. But in the end he agreed to her plans. Now they were leaving one of the finest restaurants in Magnolia.

"Where are we going, Natsu?" Brandish asked, as he steered her in a different direction than they would've to go back to the guild.

"You'll see soon." Natsu grinned. "It's really a beautiful night…"

"Yes it is," she smiled, looking up at the star-covered sky above them. They were approaching the outskirts of town, and as the shops, restaurants, and housing complexes fell away, the stars became all the more visible.

She realized where they were when they came to a stop in front of a gate. It was an ornate steel gate, set in the midst of a large wall built entirely of marble. Dragons wound themselves around each side of the gate, their heads coming together at the tops. Green gems adorned each side, and two enormous emeralds served as the eyes for each.

Natsu produced a key, which he fitted into the lock and clicked it open, and the two went inside. They made their way up toward the three story house that stood there, and stopped under one of the cherry trees. Blossoms drifted to the ground around them, twirling in the gentle breeze as they glided through the air.

"Is it finished already, Natsu?" Brandish asked, surprised that the house would be done so far ahead of schedule.

"Not yet." Natsu replied. "It's going to be finished in exactly three months. Right before what I hope will be my wedding day, if the bride will have me…" As he spoke, he got down on one knee, opening a box and holding it up to her. "Will you?"

"Will I?..." Brandish's mind was momentarily having trouble processing the sudden turn of events.

"Marry me." Natsu said, still on his knee.

Brandish stared at him a moment longer as it finally clicked in her mind. This was the moment. The moment she'd dreamed of from the time she was a young girl, and it couldn't be anymore perfect. Here, in the midst of the falling cherry blossoms, a blush formed on her cheeks as she finally brought the words to her lips.

"Y-Yes." She stammered

And as she looked at the ring he was slipping on her finger, tears came to her eyes.

 **~~~FLASHBACK START~~~**

"Hey Brandish," Natsu said. "How big of a diamond do you want in your ring?"

"Diamonds? Pfff." Brandish snorted at the 16 year old boy. "I don't need a diamond. I'd rather have a colorful gem. Like an emerald, to match my hair. Or maybe a ruby, to match yours."

"Your hair's a lot lighter than an emerald, and mine is pink, not red."

"Emeralds are still green. And pink is just light red, baka." She smacked him playfully on the back of the head. "But now I can't decide which I'd rather have. They'd both be so beautiful. Too bad you can't just have both in a single, big jewel." She said.

"Maybe you can." Natsu grinned.

"There aren't any gemstones like that, baka."

"Oh yeah? Someday I'm going to prove you wrong."

 **~~~END FLASHBACK~~~**

The ring that Natsu was slipping on her finger had a single, circular cut gemstone that was somehow emerald on one side and ruby on the other. It was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. On the red side, smaller rubies were set into the band, while small emeralds were set into the band on the other side.

"Guess you were wrong after all," Natsu said, getting up slowly and kissing her.

Tears of joy filled her eyes as she clung to her dragon slayer. "Baka," she whispered before she kissed him back, melting into his arms.

After a couple moments, she pushed him to the soft grass, her hands moving to pull off his pants and boxers.

"We'll get caught," he gasps into her mouth.

"By who? This is our house after all, and the workers will all have gone home for the night, baka."

It was some time later that the couple returned to Natsu's house to sleep.

The next morning Natsu kicked in the doors to the guild in.

"Yo everyone!" He said loudly. "I'm only gonna say this once, so listen up. Brandish and I are getting married in 3 months!"

Everyone just stared for a few minutes. Then Brandish was swept off by a group of girls with a flood of questions. Where did he propose? Did his proposal live up to your expectations? How much was the ring? (She didn't actually know). Why wait three months till the wedding? Would they live in his house, or look for a new place? (It's a secret). Who would she choose for her bridesmaids? What color would their dresses be? Did she have a dress picked out yet? What color shoes would she wear? Did she want a full train or just a simple veil? Would they do it at the guild or the temple? (Guild, definitely).

The guy's side was very different. They pretty much took turns saying some variation of "congratulations man," and "drinks are on me today." Then they shook his hand, and pulled him over to the bar.

The two didn't spend much time together that day.

 **~~~A few days later~~~**

Mirajane was wearing a huge smile when she came out from her conversation with Brandish. The other girls in the guild gathered around her. "What did she want?"

Mira grinned. "She wants me to help out with picking the dress, and the bridesmaid dresses too."

"Wow. You're lucky! I wish I could be part of planning the wedding."

"Who are the bridesmaids? What color are their dresses? Where is the wedding going to be?"

Mirajane laughed. "Well, Erza, me, and Levy will be bridesmaids. Wendy will be the maid of honor. And Laxus, Elfman, and Gajeel will be the groomsmen, with Gray as the best man."

"Aaaww…" All the girls said unanimously.

"Why is Wendy the maid of honor?"

Mira grinned. "I think it has something to do with the fact that she's kind of Natsu's surrogate sister."

"Aawwww."

"As for where they're doing the wedding, at the guild, of course. Natsu wouldn't have it any other way. Of course, Brandish says it's her preference too, but she might just be saying that for his sake."

"And the rest… Well, you'll just have to wait and see."

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

"Whoever said you have to wear this shit for weddings should be roasted alive on a spit." Natsu complained. Erza had insisted on taking him to the tailor to get his tuxedo ready.

"Do you have any idea what you would like?" The tailor asked Natsu.

"Can you show us—"

Natsu cut Erza off. "I've got this, Erza." He grinned. "I need a white Tuxedo with a red shirt to go under it and a black bowtie," he said. "The tuxedo should have red cuffs and red buttons, with a red handkerchief in the pocket. We'll need it to be ready for a first fitting as soon as possible. Final fitting has to be done 12 weeks from today."

Erza gaped.

"Alright, sir. Sounds like you're a man who knows what he wants. Follow me, and we'll get you measured."

Natsu grinned and went after the man.

After a few measurements, he and Erza were back outside the store.

"What was that?" The knight requip mage asked him, still flabbergasted.

"Brandish and I have thought out every detail of our wedding," Natsu grinned. "We didn't have much else to do after we first met."

"I still can't believe you kept that secret from everyone."

"I told you before, I couldn't remember it to tell anyone."

"Yeah, yeah, something about your little magic spell. I got that."

"If you're trying to piss me off, it's working."

"Good."

 **~~~Brandish~~~**

"If you already knew what you wanted, why'd you ask me to help pick it out?" Mira asked as they headed out of the bridal shop.

"Because I wanted company, and I couldn't bring Natsu, as much as I wanted to…"

"I guess I see your point there," Mira said.

Brandish just laughed, there was a faint tinge on her cheeks as the two strolled slowly through the streets of Magnolia.

"You've changed a lot," Mira commented.

"Oh?" Brandish looked at her.

"When we first met, you were so serious. Yet flippant. You didn't seem to care much about life or about others. Other than Natsu, you didn't seem to want to connect to anybody. Now…"

"I'm alive," Brandish finished with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess that's about right." Mira said. "You seem genuinely happy, you've opened up a lot, and you actually want to be around people."

"Well, I never realized what a big difference being with Natsu for 3 months made in my life, or I guess I should say in my heart," Brandish said. "It's hard to explain, but it's almost like I didn't just regain my love for Natsu… It's like I got my whole heart back."

Mira laughed. "You know, you made a lot of girls jealous when you came back all lovey-dovey with Natsu."

"You mean there were other girls that liked him besides Lucy?"

"You couldn't tell? Yeah, there were several others that would've gladly said 'yes' if he'd popped the question on them." Mira smiled.

"Like who?"

"Well, me for one." Mira said. "And of course Erza. Lisanna, who was his first childhood friend. That's probably all in this guild, but there are some girls in other guilds who I know would kill to be in your shoes."

"Not literally, I hope." Brandish said with a small laugh. "I didn't realize Natsu was so popular. Not that it's a surprise…" she added thoughtfully. "That idiot was always rescuing and protecting others, not even thinking about his own well-being…"

"He's an idiot, but he's a charming idiot," Mira smiled.

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

"Man, I've got to start getting invitations ready. Brandish said she doesn't really know anyone besides the guild, so I'm responsible for getting invitations mailed out."

"Who are you going to invite from other guilds?" Erza asked, interestedly.

"Well, Sting and Rogue, of course, and probably Yukino too. Chelia, and I guess Lyon. I guess I could invite Blue Pegasus, since we've worked with them a few times…."

*smack* "You will not invite Ichiya. That's an order."

"Aye ma'am?" Natsu rubbed his head.

"Anyway, it sounds like you've got a pretty good lineup. It'll make for a really full guild."

"And a great after party!"

"Anything at Fairy Tail would be a great after party," Erza laughed. "In fact, Fairy Tail's kind of like a constant after-party."

Natsu grinned. "Just the way I like it…"

"So where will you two live anyway? Brandish doesn't have a place yet, and your dingy little house won't be enough once you start having children…"

"That's a secret." Natsu grinned.

"Natsu, you have something up your sleeve? I'm surprised…"

"I always have something up my sleeve."

Erza laughed. "You may be right about that one. Well, I'll look forward to finding out then."

 **~~~Almost 3 months later~~~**

"Alright, I did it!" Lucy charged into the guild, holding the key. "I found Aquarius!"

"That's great Lucy," Wendy said with a smile. She was sitting at a table with Carla and Happy. Other than some of the new members, the guild was pretty empty.

"Where is everyone, Wendy?" Lucy said as she sat down next at the table by her. Haiku came to sit by them as well.

"They're all out getting ready for the wedding."

"Eh?!" Lucy's mouth dropped open. "Wedding?"

"Yep." Wendy smiled. "Natsu and Brandish's wedding is 2 days away."

"Oh… They moved really fast on that," Lucy said.

"Well, I guess." Wendy replied. "They've been waiting a long time in some respects, though."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Lucy sighed. "I'm sorry I was so mean to you before leaving, Wendy."

"It's fine Lucy," Wendy replied. "I understand how you were feeling."

"I'm over it now," Lucy said. "At least, as much as I'll ever be."

"Well, that's good." Wendy smiled. "I'm sure Natsu and Brandish will be happy to hear that."

Just then the doors opened, and the couple in question walked in. They stopped when they saw Lucy, and stared.

"Welcome back Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed with his big grin. "Did you find Aquarius?"

"Yep!" Lucy smiled and held up the golden key proudly. "Now all my friends are together again."

"Welcome back Lucy," Brandish said. "I'm sorry for treating you so coldly before."

"It's ok," Lucy said with a shrug. "It was both our faults. I'm sorry for treating you the way I did."

"It's ok," said Brandish.

Just then a stream of people came in. Girls pulled Brandish away, wanting to get her ready for her wedding. Lucy watched as she smiled and chatted with them.

"Brandish seems… different…" she said to Wendy.

Wendy smiled. "She is. Getting her part of the memories back really changed her."

Lucy looked at Wendy. "I'm still curious as to what you saw back then."

Wendy smiled. "That's something I can't tell anyone else," she said. "Not even Carla. It was something I was never meant to see, but it really does put perspective on their relationship."

"I guess I'll have to take your word for it, then." Lucy said.

"Hey Salamander!" Gajeel barged through the doors. "Why'd you nix the wedding song I wrote? I was all set to give you an all-star solo for your wedding party."

"That's what I was afraid of, iron breath. I don't want to subject my new wife to that."

"Say that again Salamander…" Gajeel was in his face now.

"Gajeel!" Levy called out. "Get over here!"

Gajeel instantly forgot his altercation with Salamander and rushed over to Levy. "Whaddya want, shrimp?"

While they had their conversation, Lucy turned to Natsu. "I'm happy for you, Natsu." She said with a smile. "Sorry I treated you so poorly before."

"It's fine Lucy. Good to have you back in the family." Natsu grinned.

"It's almost time for the dress rehearsal!" Makarov called loudly from the front.

Instantly everyone fell into place.

The rehearsal went off without a hitch. And of course, so did the party afterward.


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Fairy Tail. I don't own the characters. Hiro Mashima owns all that.

So this is kind of a short chapter again. However, things will start getting more interesting soon.

R&R as always :) Thanks for all the great reviews.

* * *

"Why did we have to be here so early?" Natsu complained. He was in one of the smaller rooms in Fairy Tail, along with all the groomsmen and the best man. "And why can't I see Brandish?"

"It's bad luck to see your bride on your wedding day before she walks down the aisle." Elfman said.

"But why did we have to be here so early?"

Gray laughed. "Because if you come in after Brandish, you might accidentally see her flame brain. So you have to be here when she starts getting ready."

"But all we've done is sit in this room!" Natsu fumed. "I'm going crazy."

"It's only another hour, Natsu. Waiting patiently is a man!" Said Elfman.

"Yeah, but why am I the only one that has to stay in here."

Suddenly they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Alright, the groom and the groomsmen can come out for the pre-ceremony pictures now."

"FREEDOM!" Natsu yelled as he rushed out the door.

"COOOL!" Jason, the reporter from Sorcerer, was there to cover the event. "Natsu Dragneel is the first to get married. Who would've thought? What do his groomsmen think about it?"

As Jason interviewed them, the photographer was setting them for their photos. "It's hard to believe mister clueless managed to get himself a girl," Gray said.

"Getting married is a man!" said Elfman.

"He got a good strong girl who can reign him in a little," said Laxus.

"COOOL!" Said Jason, as the photographer started snapping pictures. "Any thoughts from the groom?"

"When is this going to be over?"

"COOOL! Even the indomitable Natsu Dragneel gets the pre-wedding shakes!"

"No I don't. I just hate waiting!"

 **~~~Bride's party~~~**

"FREEDOM!"

Brandish giggled as Natsu's exultant cry reached them through the door.

"Sounds like they're getting the first round of photos." Mirajane said as she finished the last touches of Brandish's makeup. "Better hurry and get that dress on you."

Erza and Wendy were already helping the beautiful mage get into the wedding dress. "I can't believe this is actually happening," Brandish said as she pushed her arms into the sleeves.

Behind her, Mirajane worked on the tight zipper. "Stand up straight," she instructed.

Brandish straightened up, and Mira managed to get the zipper the rest of the way up. With that done, Wendy and Era held the outer skirt up and helped Brandish step into it.

"I hope I look ok," Brandish said as they worked on getting the dress on her. "You think this dress was a good choice? Does it look good on me? Do you think Natsu will like it?"

"It looks amazing on you," Mirajane assured her. "Natsu will adore it."

"I hope I look this good on my wedding day," Wendy said dreamily as she sat carefully in one of the comfortable chairs, not wanting her dress to get wrinkled.

Brandish blushed. "Thanks Wendy… But I still can't help wondering what Natsu will think."

"Natsu will be speechless when he sees you," grinned Mira, "which is why I can't wait. I'm not sure that's ever happened before."

Erza laughed. "Either that or he'll blurt out whatever he's thinking at the moment, which will probably be something like 'Holy shit, I'm marrying a goddess."

"Definitely speechless," Mira retorted as Brandish blushed at the comment.

"He's Natsu. He'll say something." Erza said, giving her rival a warning stare.

"I still say speechless. Because his mind will be so awestruck by her beauty that it won't be able to form words."

"Nope, Natsu is never speechless."

Brandish and Wendy both giggled. The two rivals looked at them. "What's so funny?!"

"You two," Brandish said with a smile. "Even when you're trying to calm my nerves, your rivalry still shows. But thank you," she added. "I couldn't ask for better friends."

Just then there was a knock on the door. "Are you ready? They want to take pictures of the bridal party now!"

"Just finished," Mirajane called.

 **~~~In the groom's room~~~**

"Gah! The ceremony is never going to come!" Natsu groaned, pacing the room.

"Chill out," Laxus said. "It's been like 5 minutes since we got back in from photos.

"I'm gonna' get some food!" Natsu announced, grabbing the door handle.

"Oh no you don't. They'll be doing pictures for the girls soon. I'll get the food," Laxus said.

"Oh fine," Natsu glared at the door as it closed. "This ceremony's never going to get here…"

 **~~~20 minutes later~~~**

Natsu was standing in the front area of the guild. Next to him was Makarov, who would be overseeing the marriage ceremony. About 5 feet behind him stood the groomsmen, all wearing their dark green tuxedos. After what seemed an eternity, the bridesmaids started up the aisle. They were wearing gorgeous red dresses, with pink lace and trim. Each carried a single white rose, which she added to a vase standing on a table near the center.

Then Brandish appeared in the aisle, and Natsu's heart stopped. All he could do was stare at the beautiful woman who was slowly stepping down the aisle, Gildarts, who would be doing the part of the father, at her side. His mind couldn't even begin to describe her beauty. The pure white gown cascaded around her, hiding her beautifully shaped legs from view. A ruby dragon hung on a platinum necklace adorned her neck, and the faintest blush showed through the makeup on her cheeks.

On the bridal side Mirajane snickered inwardly, carefully maintaining a composed exterior. In typical rival fashion, the two had made a bet over Natsu's reaction. And now Erza would have to address her as master and be her personal servant for a full day.

Of course Erza, who was next to her, was inwardly cursing the dragon slayer for her misfortune.

In the eternity that it took for his bride to reach the front of the guild, Natsu's mind was still not able to put words to what he was seeing. Like a goddess of beauty, she swept gracefully along the floor, gliding rather than walking to him. It was like meeting her all over again, being drawn in by her grace, enraptured by her beauty.

Indeed, for perhaps the first time in his life, the dragon slayer was speechless.

Then Makarov cleared his throat, and the ceremony started.

"We are all family here," he said. His gaze swept over the entire crowd, including those present who were not from Fairy Tail. "Whether you belong to this guild or another, we are all family. We are all bound by joy. By tears. By good times. By suffering. By moments of despair, but most of all, by hope."

"The man you see before you today is the embodiment of hope. When things looked bleakest, it was always Natsu Dragneel who was there to encourage us. When the enemy we faced was too overwhelming, it was Natsu who gave us courage to move forward. And for many of us, when we despaired of our lives, it was Natsu Dragneel who refused to let us give them."

He stopped and looked around the guild again before looking to the dragon slayer, standing a little ways before him, and Brandish, still standing next to Gildarts.

"As you all know, we are gathered here to celebrate the union of this man, Natsu Dragneel, to this woman, Brandish. But what we are really celebrating is hope. Hope for a future that extends beyond our generation. Hope that the love we hold for each other will inspire a new generation of brats. And most of all, hope that we will always have the courage to move forward, no matter how dark, no matter how bleak, the world around us."

He paused again, then focused his attention on Gildarts Clive. "Who gives this woman to this man?"

"I do," Gildarts said, and Brandish left his side and moved slowly to Natsu, taking his hands as the two turned to face each other.

"Magic is a curious thing," Makarov said after Gildarts had taken his place in the audience. "Not everyone can use it. Some can lose the ability to use it. But the source of magic is everywhere. For many, it becomes a commodity. Something to be bought and sold for profit, to make living easier. For some that source becomes great power that they use for their own selfish ends, to carve out a name for themselves by force or greed. But for others, it becomes the strength to protect what they love."

"But there is a magic that everyone has," Makarov continued. "From the top ranked saint wizard to the lowest peasant, this magic flows freely through all of us. It has the power to lift us up. To change our lives and our futures. To give us strength that we never knew we had. You could say this is the most powerful magic of all. This magic is called love."

"And that is what we're here to celebrate today. In the time that they've known each other, there is no doubt that Natsu and Brandish have truly learned to love each other. Already that love has experienced challenges, but together they have come through stronger. More passionate. And more determined to meet the future together."

"There will be challenges," he continued. "There will be battles to be fought. Obstacles to overcome. But if they remember their love, the challenges will make them stronger."

He then turned back to the couple. "In some places it is customary to recite vows, but in the world of magic only two words are needed. The magic in your hearts understands the promise you make with these two words, and it holds you to that promise. With these two words you make an oath that is stronger than any contract."

"So, Natsu Dragneel, do you take Brandish as your wife? Do you swear to love her and stay with her, through joy and through sorrow? To live life together with her and move forward together toward the future?"

"I do."

"And you, Brandish, do you take Natsu as your husband? Do you swear to love him and stay with him, through joy and through sorrow? To live life together with him and move forward together toward the future?"

"I do."

As Brandish finished speaking, each wizard's magic flared up. The red hot fire of Natsu and the calm white power of Brandish. The two merged in the middle, where they met, and flared a brilliant pink. Then, with a blinding flash, the magic power returned each to its user. The only difference was that now Natsu had a small white dragon on his right wrist, while Brandish had a small red dragon on hers.

Makarov smiled. "Your hearts have acknowledged your promises before all these witnesses. What is joined cannot now be broken. Let the rings be given."

Romeo stepped forward with the wedding bands. There was an onyx black one lined with small rubies, which Brandish took and slipped on Natsu's finger. The other was a platinum band lined with emeralds, which Natsu took and slipped on Brandish's finger. Then the two completed the ceremony by engaging in a passionate kiss, that lasted until they had to break apart for air.

"And now…" Makarov grinned. "Let's party!"

It was much later that Natsu and Brandish were heading out. As they were leaving, Natsu turned to make an announcement. "Tomorrow, you're all invited to our housewarming party. Gramps has the address. And now, we're going to get busy. Ciao!"

 **~~~Far away~~~**

"So Natsu Dragneel is married. To someone from the Alvarez Empire." Nine people were gathered around a table in an old, abandoned building. All of them wore hoods and face coverings to mask their features.

"It is exactly as the message said, then. Is this a prophecy? Or is someone speaking to us from the future?"

"It doesn't matter which it is. The one who sent the message knows what the future will bring. When Natsu Dragneel's daughter is born she must not be allowed to live."

"Do we have eyes in Fairy Tail?"

"We do."

"Then we wait. When the time is right, we strike silently. From the shadows."

* * *

**I don't often do end notes, but there are a couple comments I think I should add.

First, I'm aware that the wedding ceremony didn't fully follow our cultural norm. I tried to have enough there to make it feel like a wedding to readers, while enough different to make it obvious that this is an alternate reality.

Second, there are a few ways this story could go from here. I haven't quite decided which is going to win out, so the characters will decide for me as I write.

Third, I'm kicking around ideas for my next story. I'm also working on Fire Dragon of the Apocalypse, and the next chapter should be posted within the next few days.

So ideas for my next story are as follows:

1\. After making the ultimate sacrifice in the final battle against Alvarez, Natsu is granted rebirth and favor by Ankhseram. Ankhseram's favor also means he gets to lift the curse of Ankhseram from one person. What will he choose, and how will it change things? NatsuxMavis

2\. Off Canon: After the events at the Tower of Heaven, Natsu and Erza both decide they need to get stronger, and go on individual training missions. How does this change things for Fairy Tail, especially when both return just in time for the S-Class exams on Tenroujima? Natsu x Erza

3\. Natsu's done it again. This time, the council's not ready to let the damage slide so easily. But King Fiore decides to rescue Natsu with a surprising decision. Natsu x Hisui

4\. Off canon: After Erza tells Kagura to hide in the events at Rosemary village, a young Natsu shows up and saves her from a group of the slavers that still remain. More powerful Natsu. Natsu x Kagura, possibly smatterings of Natsu x Erza and/or Natsu x Kagura x Erza.

5\. Gender bender: Natsu dragneel is the fire dragon's daughter. Mijaro (Mirajane male) Strauss is the demon of Fairy Tail. When Natsu's best friend, Lisanna Strauss, dies during a mission, the two are deeply affected by the loss. Fem Natsu x Mijaro


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the Characters. It all belongs to Hiro Mashima

So this is chapter 7. Things are starting to come into focus now.

I still can't decide which idea to work on next, and so far reader input is pretty even among the 5... GAH! I NEED DIRECTION! _

Ok... Sorry, done ranting. But seeing as most ideas have 2-3 votes, I'm undecided... Maybe I'll just decide based on the story that feels best when I start writing. Or, of course, there's always a fun game involving beer, random chance, and bullets.

Oh wait, I guess that wouldn't really help would it?**

* * *

It was just after lunch when Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Erza, and Mirajane got to the address given for the housewarming. All four of them looked at the house before them, checked the address, looked at the house again, checked the address again, and stared at the house again.

First of all, they were looking through two iron gates that were impressive in themselves. The gates were set in a 15 foot high marble wall that extended all the way around as far as they could see. Beyond the gate was a garden with a cobblestone path leading through it. Close to the gate were a variety of roses climbing on silver trellises. Beautiful red, yellow, pink, and white blooms were scattered all down the central path. Beyond that were two cherry trees in full bloom, with other flowering further away from the path. And beyond that was a 3 story mansion with an ornate double door made from a rare black oak that could only be obtained via import. The mansion itself was built entirely from stone on the outside, with immaculate stone work and no gaps in the walls.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Gray asked, still staring.

"There's no way Natsu could afford this place…" Lucy whispered in awe.

"What time is it?"

"It's just turning 12:30, which is when he said to start arriving…"

Suddenly the iron gates swung open. The group hesitated for a few minutes before stepping inside, heading up the path to the doors of the mansion. Gray paused before taking the large steel knocker and knocking loudly.

Almost immediately, the door swung open, and Natsu greeted them.

"Welcome!" He grinned. "You guys are the first to arrive!"

All five of them were stuttering, still not quite believing what they were seeing. "Natsu?" Erza asked. "How were you able to afford this?"

Natsu blushed. "Over the years I've been secretly putting money aside for this. I never understood why until now, but I'm glad that I did it."

"This is impressive," Mirajane smiled as she looked at the large dining room beyond the foyer, where an array of drinks and snacks were laid out. "Natsu, do you perchance have any white wines?"

"Sure Mira, what do you want? I'll get it for you."

"Oh, don't bother Natsu. I think my servant would be glad to get it, wouldn't you?" She asked Erza. "I'd like a glass of their sauvignon blanc, please."

Erza's eyes promised that she would find a way to get her revenge on the silver-haired demon. But she only said, "As you wish, master."

Natsu's mouth dropped open with surprise. Gray, Lucy, and Juvia took him aside.

"We're not exactly sure what it was about, but apparently Erza lost some kind of bet. She's been calling her master all morning."

"AHAHAHA!" Natsu laughed loudly.

Just then Brandish came down the stairs. She was wearing a short little black dress that just came down to her thighs, clinging to her hips and ass. The neckline dipped to reveal some impressive cleavage without showing any bra. Her hips swayed tantalizingly as she came toward them.

"Stop drooling Gray," Natsu growled. "That's my wife."

"Can't… help… it… So… Hot…"

And that's how Gray Fullbuster got knocked out cold at his first housewarming party.

"I would normally yell at you right about now, Natsu…" Erza said as she came back with the wine. "But in this case he deserved it."

"Aren't you supposed to say something?" Mira asked as Erza handed her the wine.

Erza glared at the demon of Fairy Tail. "Here's your wine, master." She ground out.

Just then there was another loud knock on the door. Natsu opened it to see Laxus, Sting, Rogue, Gajeel, Levy, Elfman, Lisanna, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen. All of them looked a little shell shocked by their surroundings.

"Hey Natsu," said Laxus. "What happened to Gray?" Just then his eyes found Brandish, who was standing next to her husband by the door. His mouth fell open as his eyes instantly traveled downward.

"He was ogling my wife," Natsu said, preparing another punch.

"Oh shit." Laxus forced himself to tear his eyes away from Brandish's impressive boobs. "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks," Natsu said before he punched Bickslow, who had moved around almost behind Brandish and was now staring lustfully at her ass.

"Two down," muttered Erza with a little smirk. "And the party hasn't even started yet."

"Rogue!" Sting whispered, jerking the dragon slayer's arm.

"What is it?" Rogue said. "I was admiring the view…" He saw Gray and Bickslow laid out. Then saw Natsu looking at him and gulped. "I was, er, looking at those tasty snacks over there. I bet the boobs are especially good." He realized what he said and quickly yelled out. "Bread! I meant bread!"

"Three down," Erza said as Rogue joined Bickslow and Gray on the floor.

"Should I go change, Natsu?" Brandish asked sweetly, turning to face the dragon slayer and wrap his arms around him. Her firm, round ass jutted out tantalizingly, and the men quickly looked away.

"Nah, you look great." Natsu grinned. "I don't mind if people admire you, but staring is rude."

"Mmm… it is," she smiled and wiggled her hips seductively. Laxus, whose eyes were back on the couple again, got a nosebleed.

Mira just gaped. This was a side of brandish that the girl hadn't shown since she and Natsu had recovered their full feelings and memories. She wasn't quite sure she liked it. She enjoyed the reputation that came with being the demon of Fairy Tail and didn't need another rival for the position.

"But," she added, whispering in his ear in a low seductive voice that only he could hear. "It wouldn't be much fun for you if all your friends spent the night on the floor." Her body language indicated she was saying something much more intimate, and all the girls around were blushing as the men got nosebleeds.

Just then there was another knock, and Yukino came in with Wendy. "What happened to Rogue, master Sting?" She asked, surprised.

"He got caught ogling Natsu's wife," Sting replied.

"Oh, ok," said Yukino.

The first arrivals, minus Gray who was still out cold, had now made their way over to the dining room and were starting to get drinks. Soon everyone was there, and Natsu moved the party out to the pavilion in back.

"So why are we having the party out here again, Natsu?" Laxus asked as he helped carry out the food and drinks from the dining room.

"Because this will be a lot less expensive to replace than the mansion," Natsu said with a grin.

"Oh." Laxus said. "Wow, that's surprisingly smart."

"Hey!"

And the party went on.

 **~~~A week later~~~**

Things had just settled down at Fairy Tail when the door to the guild was flung open unexpectedly. A group of guards from the council walked in, escorting a tall, blue-haired mage with red markings on his face. Amidst the stares of the guild, they brought him to the front, where Makarov stood waiting.

"You have been informed of the council's decision?" One asked.

"I have," Makarov replied, nodding his head.

"And your decision."

Makarov sighed. "It is a heavy responsibility, but Fairy tail will accept the conditions of the council. Jellal Fernandez may join, and if he does anything to break the arrangement we will be sure to inform you."

"Very well. I will inform the council of your decision and leave Jellal to your care."

The council members walked away, leaving Jellal Fernandez to get his Fairy Tail mark.

"Thank you Master Makarov," Jellal said as he received his guild mark. "I'm sorry to be a burden to you."

"You're not a burden Jellal," Makarov assured him. "It's just that crazy magic council."

"Jellal," Erza smiled. "I'm so glad things worked out."

"Thanks Erza." Jellal grinned. "It took some convincing, but we did it. And I even get to be in Fairy Tail with you."

He moved to kiss her, but she pulled back a little. "Jellal, as much as I could be interested in pursuing this relationship further, I need to take it slow right now." She said.

"Oh," he said, looking a little disappointed. "Why so slow now? You were quick to kiss back at that time…"

"That was a long time ago," Erza said. "But like I said, Jellal, it's not that I don't have any feelings. I just want to take time and explore them for a while."

"Ok…"

"How does a date sound, this Friday?"

"Great." He perked up a little.

"This Friday then." Erza grinned and offered him a hug. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about this development. She knew that if Natsu Dragneel asked her to marry him, she'd say yes in a moment. But Natsu was married now, and Jellal had been her childhood crush. She hoped spending time together would bring back those old feelings that made him her first love interest.

Friday came faster than she would expect, and soon Erza found herself sitting at the nicest restaurant in Magnolia. She was on her second glass of wine, and Jellal was asking her about the last few months since the war.

She knew the last few months must've been hard for him. After the war he was taken into the custody of the council, who eventually released him and Meredy to Fairy Tail. Meredy had signed on the day after the blue-haired mage. But during those three months he didn't know what would happen. The council could've decided to execute him. In a lot of ways, the fact that he was here at all was a testament to how much the magic council had changed.

"So is there someone else, Erza?" He asked bluntly, out of nowhere.

"Huh? No. Well, not anymore." Erza said.

"Not anymore?" He raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"There was someone for a long time… but he's out of my reach now," she sighed looking out the window. She wondered if things might've gone differently if she'd admitted her feelings a long time ago. But now it was too late to find out. He was married, and loyal to a fault.

"What do you mean out of your reach?" Jellal asked hesitantly. "Did he die in the war?"

"No," said Erza, "but he's married now… And he's not the sort of man I could take from his bride, even if I wanted to."

"I see," Jellal said. "I never knew you felt that way about him, Erza."

"I'm not sure I did either," she admitted. "Not until I saw him in a relationship. Then suddenly I realized what I felt. At that point, of course, it was too late…"

"So that's why you're not ready for a full-blown relationship yet," Jellal reasoned.

Erza just nodded. "I'm sorry Jellal, but my heart needs a little more time to recover. We can keep dating like this though, and I'm sure I'll be able to commit to a more serious relationship soon."

"I would like that," Jellal said with a smile.

 **~~~At the guild~~~**

"Meredy, you heading out soon?" Mirajane asked as she left the bar area. The girl sat alone at a table near the door, looking as though she were lost in thought.

"Oh yeah, I'll leave in a little while." She answered quickly.

"Make sure you cut the lighting when you go," Mira said as she left.

Meredy barely heard her. She was still engrossed in her thoughts. "Natsu, huh?" She muttered quietly to herself. Her mind went back to the grand magic tournament, when she and Ultear had pulled the dragon slayer from the shadows that wanted to destroy him. He'd formed a lasting impression on her then, and she'd once found herself hoping that she could explore a closer relationship with the dragon slayer.

"I wonder if things would've been different then," she sighed sadly, taking a missive from her pocket and reading it carefully before destroying it. Then she drew her cloak and hood about her and headed out into the night.

 **~~~A month later~~~**

"ALRIGHT!" Natsu yelled, running boisterously from the infirmary into the guild hall. "Everyone, we've got an announcement. I'm gonna' be a father!"

Shouts and cheers erupted throughout the guild. Along with other mixed reactions.

"I can't believe there's gonna' be a little flame brain running around," Gray groaned.

"I hope it's a girl!" Levy squealed.

"It better be a boy Natsu!" Elfman cried out. "Having a son is a man!"

"If it's a girl she'll spend lots of time with her aunt Erza, right Natsu?"

Just then, Brandish came down from the infirmary as well. "You couldn't even wait for me to tell the guild with you?"

"Sorry… Guess I got a little excited," Natsu grinned sheepishly.

"You'll never change, will you?" She said softly. "Baka," she added softly, smacking him playfully on the back of the head.

"I wonder what kind of magic she'll have?" Lucy said.

"Considering who her parents are, her potential is enormous," Makarov said. "Wait, when did we start calling the baby a she?"

"It's a man!" Elfman roared.

Evergreen rolled her eyes. "I hope they have an adorable little girl with pink hair," she said.

"It better be a boy, Natsu!" Laxus yelled.

"Girl!" Erza and Lucy said together.

"Boy!" Laxus, Gajeel, and Gray yelled. "Man!" Elfman chimed in.

"Girl!" Cried all the girls in Fairy Tail simultaneously.

Suddenly chairs started flying. Natsu moved in front of his pregnant wife to protect her as the guild erupted into an all-out brawl.

"So when's the due date Natsu?" He was surprised to hear Meredy's small voice.

"Oh hey Meredy. Well, she's already almost a month in, so we've got about 8 months to go." He grinned.

"8 months. That's coming up fast," the pink-haired girl said.

"Is that right?" Natsu grinned. "Feels like a long time to me."

"It won't for long, Natsu," said Meredy with a smile.

Shortly after Meredy disappeared from the guild, but it wasn't really noticed because everyone was so caught up in the brawl. It was another expensive day for Fairy Tail.


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. Hiro Mashima owns that.

So from the votes so far it looks like 1 and 3 are the most popular, with 2 and 4 close behind. Right now the order I'm thinking to do them is 3-4-1-2. Then maybe 5, if I don't have other ideas by that time. I don't want to start them all at once, or I'm afraid I'll never finish them lol.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

Erza couldn't help smiling as she looked across the table at Jellal. They'd been dating for almost 8 months now, and she'd finally reached the point where she was able to let the blue haired mage back into her heart. It hadn't been easy. In fact, there were many times when she just stuck with it because she was too stubborn to quit. But she was honestly feeling pretty good about her relationship now.

And it was only natural. I mean, sure, he was evil for a while, but he had been the first one that her heart fell for. And after the incident at the tower of heaven, he'd repented and done his best to atone for his crimes.

And really, what wasn't to like? He was handsome in his own way, strong, and confident.

"Erza?"

"Huh?" Erza snapped out of her reverie. "I'm sorry Jellal, did you say something?"

"I asked if you were enjoying your strawberry cake."

"Oh very much!" Erza exclaimed as she took another bite.

"I was also wondering," Jellal said as he leaned across the table, "if you would like to spend the night at my place tonight."

Erza smiled and finished her cake before kissing him. "It's not that I wouldn't like to, Jellal, but I'm not sure we're ready to take that step yet…"

"Oh. That's ok then." She could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"I'm sorry… I'm a real pain as a girlfriend, aren't I?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Jellal said. "We've been dating for 8 months though."

"I know," she said. "And I do love you Jellal. I'm just not quite ready for that yet."

He nodded resignedly. "I guess all I can do is accept that for now then."

"Thanks Jellal," she said with a smile. "You're always a gentleman."

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Mira, who came running in the door breathlessly.

"Mira?" Erza said, wondering what would bring her out to interrupt their date. Jellal scowled across from her.

"Erza!" Mira said, her face flushed with excitement. "It's happened!"

"What's happened?" Erza's mind was a little slow at the moment.

"The one thing you said we could even interrupt your date night for."

"The…" Erza's slow brain finally caught up. "Boy or girl?" she said excitedly, getting up from her chair.

"She's the cutest little girl ever!" Mira squealed. "She's got a head full of pink hair already."

"Aaawww!" Erza grinned. "I've got to see her. Pay the bill and catch up with us, Jellal!" And with that she and Mira were out the door.

When they got to the Fairy Tail infirmary, they found Brandish cuddling the cutest little baby girl ever. She was on the small side, though only her head was currently visible outside the bundle. Her little eyes were shut, and she had the cutest little button nose that was currently wrinkled up. Her tiny lips were parted slightly as the most adorable cries ever came from her mouth.

Tiny fingers appeared at the top of the blanket, opening and closing seemingly randomly. Erza felt her heart stop as she looked at the adorable little baby, suddenly wanting one of her own.

"Can I hold her?" She whispered.

Brandish nodded softly, handing her over. She looked exhausted, but happy to finally meet her child. Natsu also looked exhausted, physically and emotionally, but he was steadfastly staying awake by Brandish's bedside.

"What's her name?" Erza asked quietly as she felt the infant stirring in her arms.

"Akemi," said Brandish with a smile.

"Beautiful," said Erza, meaning both the name and the baby. She rocked her softly in her arms, gazing adoringly at her cute little face.

"Ahem…" Brandish coughed.

"Oh. Sorry," Erza handed her back to Brandish, blushing. "She's just so adorable I didn't want to put her down."

Porlyusica came over. "In a few minutes her mommy and daddy will be asleep." She looked at Natsu and Brandish meaningfully. "And then you girls can have all the baby time you want."

As Erza turned to sit back down, she thought she caught a glimpse of Meredy in the shadows of the doorway. But she disappeared immediately. She doubted what she'd seen. Why would Meredy not join the fun?

 **~~~2 months later~~~**

Erza had a smile on her face as she strolled out of the guild. She couldn't wait to tell Jellal the good news. She couldn't ever remember being happier about anything. Well, except maybe strawberry cake.

"Erza!" She looked up as her name was called, to see Meredy running toward her. "Come quick!"

"What's wrong, Meredy?"

"It's Natsu and Brandish. Their child's in danger!"

"Come on," Erza cried out as they rushed out.

As they were running, she started the most obvious question. "How do you know Akemi is in danger?"

"It's a long story," Meredy said. "The short of it is that I work with the council. We recently infiltrated a group of high level wizards and discovered that they intend to kill Akemi."

"Why?" Erza gasped. It was unbelievable to her that anyone would want to kill a sweet little baby.

"We couldn't find that information. But we do know they have someone inside Fairy Tail."

"Someone inside?" Erza racked her brain, trying to figure out who in Fairy Tail could be a mole. They'd added several new members over the last few years. It could be any of them.

"We don't know who either. We've been trying to figure it out." Meredy said quietly. "But it has to be someone who either hides their magic power well or is stupid."

That actually made sense when she thought about it. Taking out Natsu and Brandish's child was an enormous risk, and they needed someone who could either take on two extremely powerful and extremely pissed mages or get out quick if things went bad. None of the new joins would qualify for that.

When they reached Natsu's mansion, Erza didn't see him at first. All she saw was a flash of light in a second floor window in the mansion. Thinking quickly, she requipped to her heaven's wheel armor and sent 3 swords to intercept. The swords flew quick as lightning, and there was a loud clang as the blade was deflected.

The piercing cries of a young baby broke the silence, and Erza was relieved to hear the sound. It meant the baby was alive. A furious roar sounded from the bedroom, and the hooded figure came quickly out of the window.

"Magilty Sodom!" Meredy cried, and the surprised figure was unable to dodge the spell in time. It didn't do much damage, but it tore off the cloak he'd been wearing, revealing a shock of blue hair and red face markings.

Erza froze. "J… Jellal?"

"Grand Chariot!" With a single hit, the mage knocked out Meredy. Then he turned to face Erza.

"Erza… you weren't supposed to see this. I don't have time to explain now, but believe me when I say that child needs to die."

"What do you mean she needs to die?" Erza's eyes hardened. "How could you spy on Fairy Tail? How could you try to kill that sweet little girl?"

Jellal's eyes hardened in return. "I wanted more time to explain, Erza, but as I'm sure you can tell Natsu's pretty pissed, and he'll be along any second. So I just need an answer. Do you trust me?"

Erza's lip quivered as she gave the only answer she could. "I don't care what you've been led to believe. There is no reason in the world that is good enough to kill somebody for something they might do in the future. That's the real difference between you and Natsu. Even when Natsu fought future Rogue and saw all the destruction he caused, he wouldn't kill the Rogue of the present to prevent it. Instead, he put all his energy into finding a better path."

"So be it," Jellal said. "I'm really sorry Erza. I thought we really loved and trusted each other. But now that I know you won't side with me, you'll have to die. You've seen my face, and can report me to the guild. And the counsel. METEOR!"

Erza was hit before she could even requip with a powerful attack. Then another as Jellal raced around faster than she could see. She struck out at his path as he came by a third time, but his path changed at the last instant, delivering a powerful blow to her knees. She grunted, falling back several steps as her knees threatened to give.

"I have to finish this fast Erza. This is goodbye. GRAND CHARIOT!"

Her knees still not working quite properly, Erza couldn't dodge the powerful attack. She was hit full force, falling back to the ground. Her body felt like one giant bruise, and as she tried to rise a fit of coughing ensued, and she was alarmed to see blood coming out.

"And now for the finale…" Jellal said. "Altairis!"

Erza closed her eyes, unable to move as the enormous sphere came at her. Beside her, she heard Meredy groan as she tried to move away, but she knew that it was futile. It felt like every bone in her body was crushed. This was the end.

Suddenly, in a flash, she was picked up in a strong arm. She could only guess that Meredy was in the other. The ball impacted behind them as she was laid gently on the ground.

"Jellal." The voice burned with anger. "You should've stayed dead the first time."

"And you shouldn't exist," the blue-haired mage said. "But I guess my cover is blown. I can feel your wife coming up behind me. METEOR!"

Erza braced herself for the oncoming fight, but the mage was gone. To her relief, Natsu didn't pursue. He knelt down beside her, and she could still see the barely contained fury in his eyes.

"Natsu," she whispered, tears in her eyes. Her hands went to her stomach, which felt like it was torn up. "Porlyusica confirmed it… I was so happy…"

She could see from Natsu's set jaw and furious eyes that what he wanted most right now was to take off after Jellal. To kill the mage who attacked his family, injured his guild members, and tried to kill his daughter. But instead he scooped her up in one arm. Then, taking Meredy in the other, he rushed to the infirmary.

Erza needed to stay conscious till they got there. She had to ask the old healer the question.

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

As much as he wanted to return home to his wife and child, Natsu needed to make sure the rest of his family was going to be alright. Erza refused to go to sleep, and Porlyusica seemed especially attentive to her belly.

Finally the old healer sighed. "I'm sorry Erza. The baby's gone."

Natsu let the scarlet haired mage grab his arm as she broke down in tears. Her tight grip was painful, but not nearly as painful as the agonized wails that came from her lips or the tears that streamed from her face. _I wish I'd killed Jellal back then,_ he thought darkly. _That bastard made her cry again._

Right there he swore he was going to make the blue-haired mage suffer for this. A quick, easy death would be too good for him. He hoped he resisted when he caught up. Hope he fought with every ounce of his strength, so he could take his time killing him. Bit by bit…

Natsu shook the dark thoughts from his head. Yes, he wanted Jellal gone. He would pay for what he did to Erza, but not like that. Then he'd be no better than the dark mages.

Looking at Porlyusica, who'd just finished checking Meredy, he whispered. "Will they be alright?" The old healer just mouthed her confirmation to him, and his heart rested a little easier. But tears came to his eyes as Erza continued to weep over the life that was taken that night.

Just then Makarov came in, his eyes wide. "What's happening in here. Natsu?!"

He saw Erza, clinging to the dragon slayer's arm and still weeping uncontrollably, and Meredy, unconscious on a nearby cot. "Natsu! Who did this?!"

The name came like a hiss from his lips, and Makarov caught the fire in his eyes as he spoke a single word. "Jellal."

Makarov's eyes widened. "Jellal!" He roared, his magic aura starting to become uncomfortably strong. "I'm gonna' personally kill you. And this time you're not coming back to life!"

"You'll have to wait in line, gramps." Natsu said, a quiet fierceness in his voice. "If there's anything left to kill after I get done with him, he's all yours."

It was almost an hour before Erza's agonized sobs receded into slumber, and Natsu was able to return to his wife and child.

"She took it pretty hard?" Brandish asked him as he came into the bedroom.

Natsu nodded quietly, and Brandish noticed the firm set of his jaw line. "You're really upset about this, my love…"

Natsu turned to her, quiet fury in his eyes. "She's not my wife, and she'll never be as much to me as you are. But she's still family. And this is the second time he's made her cry."

"You really care about everyone around you, Natsu." Brandish said, pulling him gently to her. "It's one of your best qualities."

"There's more…" Natsu said, almost as though he hadn't heard the words. "Erza was pregnant. He killed his own child, Brandish, while it was still in her womb…"

Brandish tensed now, her own eyes becoming hard. "No…"

Natsu nodded, tears coming to his eyes. "That's why I was there so long, my love. She's been wounded deeply this time, and I can only hope that she'll recover in time and be the Erza we know and love."

* * *

**Alright, I'll admit that first sequence was painful for me to write. But appearing to be a Jerza shipper was necessary to mislead my audience buahahaha. (Though if you read my profile you already know I don't ship Erza with anyone but Natsu).**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. Hiro Mashima owns them.

This story is going to be updating a little slowly for the next couple weeks. I have to come up with names and magic styles for several different people, so it's going to take some prep work as well.**

* * *

A week had passed since the incident with Jellal, and Meredy and Erza were finally awake and recovered enough to get out of their beds. Meredy immediately asked to speak to the guild master. After Natsu presented the request to Makarov, he agreed that they would hear what Meredy had to say right away.

The meeting was between Makarov, Meredy, and Natsu. The guild master said that the fewer people who heard what needed to be discussed there, the better. Natsu wondered what information Meredy might share with them. He certainly hoped that she would have information about who was ultimately behind Jellal's attack.

The mansion was under constant watch. Brandish was there with the baby, while Laxus and the Raijinshuu acted as guards. Once the sun sank below the horizon, Gildarts and Cana would take their place. The following morning, Gray, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, and Juvia would be on post. All guards had active communications lacrimas in case they needed to contact the guild quickly. Everyone in the guild was all ready to go at a moment's notice.

"So Meredy," Makarov addressed the pink haired mage. "What do you know about this?"

Meredy looked at Natsu briefly before she began. Natsu thought he caught a faint hint of a blush in her cheeks.

"You all know that after the war with Alvarez, the council started talking about pardoning Crime Sorciere. Well, during the early weeks I was brought out to use my sensory link to help the council in an ongoing investigation. After that, even though I officially remained in prison, I was working with a new undercover team that the magic council had built to investigate dark guilds, dark magic, and any rumors that had unactionable confirmation."

"During that time, I started assisting in the investigation of a group that called themselves the 'Judges of Fiore,' but we just called them the dark council. They were set up in a way that was similar to the old council, with 9 members, one of which acted as the head. Their purpose, they said, was to keep the magic council from becoming corrupt as well as protecting Fiore from all evil. Past, present, and future. They were able to gather affiliates throughout Fiore, though none were privy to the council of the nine. It is said they would rarely reveal the reason for an action except to the person charged with the task."

"One of the members of our team was able to infiltrate as an affiliate of the dark council. And through him we learned that there was a kill order out for Natsu Dragneel's unborn child. The man was also able to learn that they had somebody inside Fairy Tail helping them. So, shortly after Jellal joined the guild, I was sent to keep an eye on the situation."

Here the mage hung her head. "I apologize for joining Fairy Tail under false pretenses. We didn't know who the agent was, and we didn't want to alert him to our presence in the guild."

Makarov nodded. "I understand, Meredy. If you revealed your purpose to us then we would've been in more danger. We forgive you of course. So please continue."

"Well, you know the rest," Meredy said. "I was able to refine my sensory link to detect imminent intent to kill against a person marked with the link. So, when Natsu and Brandish were sleeping, I slipped in and put a link on the baby, hoping they wouldn't notice."

Here Natsu smiled. He recalled the moment that he'd noticed the sensory link on his daughter's wrist.

 **~~~FLASHBACK START~~~**

As Natsu was putting little Akemi in her crib, her little footie pajama slid up off her wrist. He started, seeing a familiar mark there.

Brandish must have seen his reaction, because she came over and looked at Akemi. "What's that mark, Natsu?" she asked worriedly.

"It's Meredy's sensory link," Natsu said.

"Meredy? Why is she using magic on our child?" Brandish's eyes narrowed.

"I don't know," Natsu admitted. "But I trust Meredy."

"I know she's a guild member, but don't you think you take this trust thing a little too far sometimes?"

"It's more than that," Natsu said. "I don't know how to explain it, but I know we can trust her."

Brandish grimaced. "How can you be sure, Natsu? This is our daughter you're talking about."

"I know," Natsu said. "And believe me, I'm a little concerned too. But I know we can trust Meredy without question."

 **~~~END FLASHBACK~~~**

Meredy blushed a little, seeing it. "You knew?"

"I saw it." He confirmed.

"Then why didn't you say something about it?"

Natsu shrugged. "Because I trusted you, Meredy. To be honet, I watched you closely after the incident and noticed that you seemed to be interested in our child. But I could see it wasn't in a bad way."

Meredy nodded. "Thanks Natsu."

"Anyway," she continued. "As soon as the sensory link activated, I went to get Erza to come with me to apprehend the culprit. I figured with both of us there nobody would be able to escape. But I never expected to encounter Jellal. Fortunately, I was thinking enough to remove the link before I engaged him in battle."

"There's something that bothers me about that," Natsu said. "Erza's really strong. She should've been able to take on Jellal herself. So how did he take her out so quickly?"

Meredy looked down. "I don't know that myself," She admitted. "But you're right. Jellal was much more powerful than he should have been. His power must have been temporarily enhanced by something."

"Which would explain his eagerness to escape and end things quickly," Makarov said quietly. "He probably had a limited time before it wore off."

"There's something else that's bothering me," Natsu said. "I can't quite figure out why, but it has to do with his attitude about the whole thing. My ears are really good, so while I was making sure Akemi was ok, I heard Jellal say he had to finish Erza quickly before I got there. That's when I rushed to help."

Makarov was frowning. "Actually, I think that could be important." He said. "If I remember correctly, Jellal took Meredy out of the fight before confronting Erza, right?"

"Yes," Meredy confirmed. "I used my Magilty Sodom attack on him, which revealed his face. Then he hit me hard while we were both in shock."

"Hmm…" Makarov sighed. "What do you think, first master?"

Everyone looked up in surprise, seeing the blonde spirit body hovering above them. "Why do you ruin my fun, Makarov?" she pouted.

"Because you're our best hope of solving this," Makarov said.

Mavis smiled. "I think it's pretty simple, really. Jellal wasn't using something to increase his power. He was using something to decrease his opponent's power. But it probably only works on one person at a time."

"That would explain why he seemed to be afraid of more than one person joining the battle." Makarov said.

Meredy lowered her head. "Master, I have no right to ask this of you, but…" She trailed off.

"What is it, Meredy?" Makarov asked gently.

"Well," she replied. One of the conditions that I accepted this mission on was that the council would let me stay in Fairy Tail… if you'll have me."

There was a moment of silence, which the nervous girl immediately filled. "Of course I would still have obligations to the council. They kept that as a condition, but I wouldn't be gone often on their missions and they said they even wanted me to take job requests with the guild members. I really love everyone here and I'd love to be part of the family, but I can understand if you don't want me after I deceived you. I—"

"Meredy," Makarov cut her off, chuckling a little. "We'd be glad to have you in Fairy Tail."

"Oh thank you!" Meredy exclaimed, tears in her eyes.

"Are we done here, gramps?" Natsu asked, getting up.

"We're done Natsu. Are you going back home?"

"I have something I have to do first."

 **~~~In the infirmary~~~**

"I said go away Gray," Erza said. She was sitting up in bed, looking physically well. But her spirit seemed to be gone.

"Not gonna' happen Erza!" The ice mage proclaimed. "You're stuck with me till you're feeling better."

Erza sighed. "Gray," she said. "Sometimes you're even more of an idiot than Natsu…"

"That hurt…" Gray mumbled. Out loud he said, "speak of the devil!"

Natsu came into the infirmary. "Hi Erza," he said, looking concernedly at the redhead.

"Hi Natsu," her lips turned a little to a fake smile. "Done with your secret meeting already?"

Natsu smiled a little. "Yeah. It was pretty boring really."

"What's this about? You can't even talk to me but you're all smiley at flame brain here?" Gray asked, clearly annoyed.

"You haven't told him, have you?" Natsu said in almost a whisper.

Erza shook her head, her fake smile breaking. "You're still the only one who knows, Natsu… Other than Porlyusica of course."

"And Brandish," Natsu added quietly. "I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't keep secrets from her."

Erza looked down and nodded slightly. "I understand. I expected as much."

"What the fuck are you two all lovey-dovey about? Wait till Brandish hears about this."

Natsu looked back to Gray, who was looking seriously pissed. "Cool it Gray," he said firmly.

Turning back to Erza, he said, "Brandish and I wanted to ask if you could do something for us."

Erza sighed, the fake smile wearing off her face. "What is it, Natsu?"

"Well," Natsu said quietly. "Truth be told, Akemi's a bit of a handful, and we could use some extra help with her. We were really hoping that you could come to the mansion every day and help take care of her, if you're up for it of course. Brandish has informed me of her intention to have lots of children, so it could get overwhelming."

"Well, I can't very well turn down a family member in need, can I?" Erza said, her voice somewhat shaky. "Let me get a few things together and I'll come right away."

"I'll help you," Natsu said. "You're still recovering."

Gray watched the two leave, wondering what in the world just happened.

 **~~~At Natsu's home~~~**

Natsu and Brandish sat together on one of the large couches in their living room area. Erza was nearby, gently rocking Akemi in her arms.

Since arriving at the mansion, the scarlet-haired mage had been reluctant to give up the baby. She was holding her every opportunity she could, cooing softly at her. Akemi had taken to Erza like she was a second mother, and was surprisingly calm in her arms. Particularly when she would wail if anyone else in the guild held her for more than 10 seconds.

"So what did you find out?" Brandish whispered to Natsu, making sure she was quiet enough for Erza not to hear.

"Apparently there's some vigilante mages out there who want to kill Akemi for some reason," Natsu replied just as quietly. "Meredy's been working with a council team, but they don't know why they're after our daughter."

"Well at least we're aware of the threat now," Brandish whispered.

"The question is what to do about it," Natsu replied quietly. "As long as these guys are free in Fiore, we're not gonna' have any peace."

"I know," said Brandish just as quietly. "We're going to have to go out and take care of the problem eventually. And sooner is better. We don't want to give them time to come up with a new plan."

"Just let them try something again," Natsu said quietly but fiercely. "I'll burn all their asses to ash before I let them lay a hand on our daughter."

"I know," Brandish said. "But I still think you should get a strong team together and go after them. Maybe in a couple weeks, though. I think right now Erza still needs you here."

Natsu looked over to the redhead, who was cuddling the now sleeping baby with tears in her eyes. "She's got the rest of the guild."

"The rest of the guild isn't you, baka," Brandish replied softly. "You do realize she loves you, right?"

"Erza? She thinks of me as a member of her family, like everyone else in the guild, sure. But no more than that."

Brandish almost laughed. "I suppose in some ways I'm blessed that you're so clueless." Then her face became serious again. "But Erza does love you, Natsu. She knows that you can't return her love that way, but she needs you to be there for her right now."

Natsu sighed. "Girls are so damn confusing."

"Hey," Brandish said, smacking him on the back of the head. "You married a girl, baka."

"No wonder I'm always so confused." Natsu offered a playful grin.

"Baka…"

 **~~~About a week later~~~**

Erza was surprised to see Mirajane in front of her room as she returned from another day at Natsu and Brandish's house. The girl was standing there, a fire in her eyes.

"Is something wrong, Mira?" Erza asked tiredly.

"Lots of things are wrong," Mirajane replied. "But the one I want to talk to you about right now is Natsu."

"What about Natsu?" Erza asked. Did she think that there was something going on between her and Natsu? Not that she would've minded if there were, but there was no way it would happen. Natsu had his mate now, and he was nothing if not loyal.

"Gray told me how Natsu convinced you to work for free at his house. I don't know what he did to you Erza, but it's not right to have you there from sunrise to sunset every day taking care of their kid for them. Especially when they're not paying you!"

Erza sighed. She thought about arguing the point but knew Mira well enough to know it wouldn't make a lick of difference.

"Mira, come inside…" she said, pulling the girl inside her room.

Once the door was closed, she turned to the girl. "Mira, I know what you heard from Gray sounds bad, but this is the nicest thing Natsu's ever done for me."

"What do you mean?" Mira sounded incredulous.

"There's something about my fight with Jellal that only Natsu and Porlyusica know." She said. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her emotions, but tears still came out as she revealed to her friend and former rival, "I was carrying a baby when he attacked, Mira. It's gone now. Natsu was there when Porlyusica gave me the news, but nobody else knows."

"Oh Erza, I'm so sorry…" Mirajane gasped, tears coming to her eyes. "I had no idea."

"I know Mira. You couldn't have known. But you can't tell anyone else."

"Erza, you should tell people. They don't understand what's going on with you."

"Natsu does." A soft hint of a smile, albeit a pained one, came to Erza's lips. "That's what matters to me."

Mira regarded the other woman for a few minutes. "Caring for the baby's not the only reason you're there, is it?"

Erza froze. "What do you mean?"

"You're still in love with Natsu," the take over mage reasoned.

Erza wanted to protest, but she knew it was useless. And honestly, she didn't have the emotional energy for needless fighting right now. She nodded her head quietly.

"Erza…" Mirajane began.

"Don't." Erza cut her off vehemently. "Don't lecture me, Mira. Yes, I know natsu Dragneel is very much in love with Brandish, his wife. Yes, I know that he'll never reciprocate my love. But…" Tears came to her eyes. "When I'm in his house all day, caring for Akemi… I can almost make myself believe I'm married to him. That I'm taking care of our baby. When I hold Akemi in my arms I enter a world where I'm the one Natsu loves. Where I'm the only one he holds and looks at as more than just Nakama. I know it's a fantasy world. But sometimes living in a fantasy world is better than living in the real one."


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. Hiro Mashima owns it all.

So this is the next installment of this story. Honestly, I wasn't planning what happened in this chapter. It just kind of happened as I was writing it. And no, I won't say what it was. You'll have to read it if you want to know.

So anyway, here's the next chapter. Read and Review**

* * *

When Natsu came to the guild early, as he had been doing recently, he saw Meredy waiting inside. He guessed she'd been there for quite a while, because her eyes were almost closed and her head was drifting slowly toward the table. It drifted a few inches, snapped back up again, drifted a few inches, snapped back up. Drifted a little further…

The dragon slayer slipped into the seat across from her as quietly as he could. Leaning across the table so his face was only inches from hers, he waited till she was almost at the bottom of her nodding off pattern.

"Hi Meredy," he said in his boisterous, cheerful voice.

"EEP!" Her head jerked back. The rest of her body followed, and she fell backward out of her seat.

She got back up slowly, her face flushed a deep red. "That wasn't funny, Natsu."

"Sorry," Natsu said, trying to hide his smile, but unable to. "So why are you here so early if you're so sleepy?"

"Actually I was waiting for you," Meredy said.

"For me?" Natsu was surprised.

She nodded. "The council has some information on you. We've managed to track down one of the dark council."

Natsu's eyes narrowed, his cheerful demeanor changing rather suddenly to something darker and more intense. "What have you discovered?"

Meredy gulped, seeming a little unsettled by the sudden change, and Natsu tried to relax his aura as much as possible. "Well, not as much as we would like. His name is Nurako, and he currently lives in an old stone house about 3 miles from Crocus. He's a short man, only a little taller than Master Makarov, and he has short, black hair, a crooked nose, and green eyes. We don't have much information about his magic or abilities. Nor do we know anything about his rank in the dark council. But so far he's our only lead."

"So why are you telling me?" It wasn't that he was upset about finding out. He just figured he was the last one the council would want to know about something like this.

"Well, to be honest," Meredy offered him a smile. "The council didn't want you to know, but I talked to them for a long time about this. I managed to convince them that the best way to get this guy scared enough to talk was to let him find out what it was like to have an angry dragon ready to rip his heart out. So the council agreed. They want you to assemble a team and start tracking these bastards down."

"Thanks Meredy," Natsu offered her a toothy grin. "I owe you one."

"Don't mention it." A shadow passed over her face. "I don't care what their reasons are. Anyone who would turn their sword against a baby is the worst kind of scum in earthland."

"Well, this is one scum that's gonna' regret his decision…" Natsu glared as he cracked his knuckles, his eyes glowing a demonic red. He could see from the girl's reaction that he as emitting a terrifying aura, but he didn't care at the moment. And she would understand that it wasn't directed at her or at his friends.

Then he quickly softened his aura as he smelled a familiar person approaching. The doors to the guild opened and Erza Scarlet came in, her face drawn into an all too familiar frown. Her face softened as she saw Natsu, though.

"Hi Erza," he smiled. "I'm glad you're here. There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

He saw the instant worry in her eyes and realized she was thinking he was going to ask her to spend less time around him and Akemi. "Don't worry. It's nothing bad. I just wanted to know if you would be willing to increase your responsibilities around the house for a while."

"Increase?..." She looked at him, uncomprehendingly.

He offered her a smile. "Well, you see, I'm going to be gone for a while, and naturally I'm a little worried about Brandish and Akemi. I was hoping you would agree to move into the house with Brandish, at least until I return."

"Move in…" Erza's eyes were watering as she comprehended his meaning, but Natsu decided to play dumb.

"I'm sorry Erza, I didn't mean to make you cry. You don't have to if you don't want to…"

And for the first time since the attack he saw the faintest flicker of a smile on her face, though it faded as quickly as it appeared. Still, it did him good to see it. It gave him hope that one day she would fully recover from the pain she received.

"I'll be happy to help take care of your family while you're gone, Natsu," she said quietly. "And Natsu…"

"What?"

"Thank you," she whispered.

Natsu smiled. "Come on, I've got to let Brandish know."

 **~~~Back at the house~~~**

"How long will you be gone?" Brandish asked, quietly.

"I don't know," Natsu replied quietly. "I'll be gone till I get answers and stop whoever's trying to kill our daughter."

Brandish scowled at him. "Just don't do anything stupid, my dragon."

"Who me?" Natsu grinned widely at her. "When have I ever done anything stupid?"

"Baka," she said, slapping him upside the head.

Natsu noticed Erza watching their exchange with a wistful, slightly sad expression on her face. _Brandish was right,_ he thought. _She really does still love me._ It hurt a little to know that he couldn't give her the one thing that might help her heal faster, but he had to believe that one day she would find healing.

Aloud, he said, "Take care of each other while I'm gone." Then he gave Brandish a kiss and headed back to the guild.

Once he arrived, he went in to confer with Makarov and Meredy. The three went into the guild master's office and closed the door.

"So Natsu, have you thought about your tem at all?" Makarov asked.

Natsu nodded. "I've thought a lot about it. I wanted to take Meredy, for obvious reasons, but I know we can't blow her cover here at Fairy Tail. I think I'll take Wendy, because her support magic will be great for tough situations, and Mira because she's strong. But I can't figure out who to choose for the last person…"

"How about me?"

They hadn't heard the door open, but they looked back to see Dimaria standing in the door. They all went into defensive mode quickly.

"What do you want?" Makarov asked with a growl.

Dimaria sighed. "Alright, I knew this wasn't going to go well, but I didn't expect it to be this bad… Can I have 5 minutes to explain myself?"

"5 minutes." Makarov said, closing the door. "But no more. Don't forget that you've hurt my nakama. Wendy never recovered for what happened to Chelia, and I'm not happy about your style of battling either."

Dimaria nodded. "Well, first let me say that I've spent the past several months traveling around Fiore to see what kind of a kingdom the weaklings – well, that's what emperor Spriggan always called them – had built. I traveled to Crocus first, then to other major trade towns. Then I went to the small villages that were far from major trade and money."

She sighed, "and honestly, I was surprised by what I found. In Alvarez, a lot of people there weren't happy. Sure, there was lots of prosperity, but there was also lots of poverty, and lots of people who just weren't happy. Only the soldiers and the top wizard guilds were really happy with their lives in Alvarez, so I always believed that was how it should be. Only the strong should be rewarded in life."

"But in Fiore, I was surprised. Whether they're powerful or weak, rich or poor, wizard or normal, everybody seemed surprisingly happy. Over the past few months I've really been made to rethink my ways. Rethink my entire life that was built around strength to get what I wanted."

"During that time I realized that Brandish always somehow got it. Whatever it was that we were missing, she understood that it was there. That's why she always hated me, and perhaps why I always hated her. But now that I realized we were missing something, I found that I never really hated her. I just pushed her away, like everyone else, because I thought getting close to someone meant weakness. And the closer I got to someone, the more I pushed them away."

"So I was on my way back to find her and try to start our relationship fresh when I heard that somebody had tried to kill her daughter. To be honest, my first reaction was pure amazement that Brandish had a daughter, though," she looked over at Natsu and grinned somewhat lustfully, "I can certainly see why. But I also want to find the people who did this to her family and crush them."

Makarov looked at her for a few long minutes, then turned to Natsu. "Natsu, this is your team, and ultimately your decision. What do you say?"

Natsu looked at the blonde mage. "Two things, gramps. First, I'm only taking family on this mission. If you're not a part of Fairy Tail, you're not going."

"Now," he added, "that isn't to say that you can't go if you become a part of Fairy Tail, but that's ultimately up to gramps. But even if you get past that step there's one more thing."

"What's that?" Dimaria asked apprehensively.

"Wendy Marvell is a member of my team already. She's the best friend of Chelia Blendy, a girl who lost all her magic after unlocking her third origin to defeat you. So, if you decide to join the guild, and gramps lets you, you have to make things right with Wendy."

Dimaria was visibly shaken by the demands, but she nodded her head. "I understand."

She turned to Makarov. "Master, I desire to join the guild Fairy Tail, to learn your ways and use my strength to protect my friends instead of to harm them."

Makarov looked at her silently for a minute. "Fairy Tail is a place where anybody gets a second chance. And if you want to learn to care for your nakama, there's no one better to teach you than Natsu. If you really want to join this guild, then you may. But if it's just to get on this mission, I won't allow it. So I need you to think very hard about this. If you join, I expect you to stay after this mission is over, to listen to my voice as master, and to be true to your Nakama. During the mission, you will also realize that Natsu is ultimately the mission leader. Regardless of your experience, you will allow him to take lead, though I'm sure he'll be more than willing to consider any tactical suggestions you may have," here he gave Natsu a sidelong look. Then he looked back at Dimaria, staring straight into her eyes. "Do you still want to join Fairy Tail?"

Dimaria considered this carefully before responding, "Yes Master, I still want to join Fairy Tail."

"Alright, go get your guild stamp from Mirajane, and then I believe there's something else you have to take care of."

Dimaria nodded and headed out. The others in the room looked at each other.

"So Natsu, do you think she fills out your team well?"

Natsu grinned. "Well, Wendy should be all we need for our healing and support magic. So with Demon Mirajane and Valkyrie Dimaria, I think the interrogation team should also be complete."

"Natsu," the master looked somewhat surprised. "You seem to have a little demon in there yourself."

Natsu didn't bother to deny it. He remembered all too well his discussion with Zeref in the war with Alvarez.

"Meredy," Natsu said. "We'll need a way to keep in touch, so we can pass information back and forth. Do you have any contacts we can work with near Crocus?"

"I'll get you the information you need for my contact," replied the girl quietly.

"Good," Natsu grinned. "We'll have this guy in no time."

"That's settled, then." Makarov said. "Return safely, my child."

"Yeah, yeah gramps. You should be more concerned for the guys that did this to my daughter."

As Natsu got up and started to leave, Makarov spoke once more.

"Natsu."

"Yes gramps?"

"If you find Jellal. What are you going to do?"

Natsu didn't turn around, but he could feel his whole body tensing up at the question as his magic aura changed instantly.

"I'm sorry gramps, but I can't promise anything if I find that bastard. You should know that better than anyone."

Natsu then left the room and found Dimaria, sitting across the table from Wendy, who was crying. He slipped into the seat next to Wendy.

"So Wendy," he said quietly to the blue-haired dragon slayer. "What do you say?"

Wendy looked up through her tears. "I've never had such a hard time forgiving someone, Natsu," she said, and he could sense the honesty in her voice. "But I can tell she sincerely wants to change… I have no objection to bringing her on this mission with us."

As Natsu looked across the table, he couldn't help noticing the sadness in the powerful mage's eyes.

"Hey Dimaria," he said, giving her his signature smile. "Don't take it too hard. Fairy Tail just had one of our own betray us. Somebody we'd given a second chance. So if you really want to be accepted and prove that you're one of us, show us that you'll never betray your family, no matter what the cost. But as far as I'm concerned, the moment you got that guild mark you became one of my Nakama. There is almost nothing in the world that can change that."

"Almost nothing?..."

"I used to say nothing," Natsu said with his trademark grin. "But then someone tried to kill my baby and hurt one of my dearest friends badly. So now I have to qualify it a little."

"Thanks Natsu," Dimaria said. He could tell she meant it, though the blonde mage was obviously adept at hiding her emotions.

"Alright. Everyone get what you'll need for the next few days at least. We're leaving for the capital in 1 hour."

"Hey Natsu," Mira grinned from behind the bar. "Are we meeting at the _train_ station?"

Natsu's face went white. "Damn it…"

Dimaria looked at him, surprised, as everyone else who was there laughed. "I get the feeling I'm missing something here."

Mirajane was suddenly beside her. "I'll say you are." She said, a demonic grin on her face. "You see, our strong, handsome, insanely powerful, dragon slayer that can kill Acnologia and Zeref in back-to-back battles has one little weakness that he tries to hide from everyone."

"And that is?"

Mira smirked. "Motion sickness."

"Motion sickness?" Dimaria's mouth dropped open, something Natsu never would've thought he'd see from the stoic, in control mage.

"Yep. He'll destroy a village. Burn a mansion down. Demolish a mountain in a single blow. Evaporate an entire lake with just his body heat. But put him on a train…"

Even Wendy was erupting into giggles now as Natsu turned green at the very thought of transportation. "That's it Mira. Just for that you're gonna' be my pillow on the train."

"I don't know how Brandish would feel about that," Mira smirked at him. "What would she think if I told her that her husband had his face so close to my virgin womanhood?"

"She would think we were riding a train together, and no more." Natsu answered with conviction. "Brandish knows better than anyone that I wouldn't be unfaithful to her. But of course, you do too."

Mira nodded, an almost wistful look on her face. "Of course."

Then the team split up to prepare for the coming journey.


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. Standard disclaimer stuff. Blah Blah Blah.

So this is chapter 11. Hopefully it's not too terrible. :P**

* * *

"Alright, this is his house," Natsu said as they approached an old-looking stone hut with a thatch roof. "Let's go!"

"With all due respect, Natsu," Dimaria said quietly, her military experience warning her that something was wrong. "I think we should approach with some strategy."

Natsu paused. A year ago he would've just charged ahead anyway, but things had changed a lot in a year, and he knew the woman's reputation. Even someone as dense as Natsu listened sometimes. "What do you suggest?"

"I think at least one of us should stay outside till we know what kind of magic we're dealing with. Many of the most powerful forgotten magics are easier to deal with if you know what they are first." She explained.

Natsu paused, considering this. Then smiled. "Sure. Why don't you wait out here Dimaria, since you know more about this than any of us?"

"Of course, Natsu." Dimaria said. From what she'd heard of the dragon slayer, she was surprised that he was so willing to acquiesce to her suggestion.

"Alright, everyone else come on." Natsu motioned. Dimaria watched as he approached the door slowly, testing the handle. It turned easily.

 _That can't be good…_

"Well that makes it easy," Natsu grinned, turning the handle and opening the door. Then they all charged into the house and instantly disappeared.

 _Teleportation magic or dimension magic,_ Dimaria thought as she looked at the doorway. She couldn't be entirely sure yet, but there was one way to find out.

Dimension magic – the lost variety at least - would only affect something with a life signature attached to it. This included people, animals, and plants, as well as non-living things that entered the dimensional door with the living things. For example, fingernails and toenails, as well as clothing, bags, weapons, and other items that were worn or carried.

Of course, dimension magic like Erza Scarlet's exquip magic worked only on non-living things. This was a less powerful form of the magic, but, as all magic, the potency was dependent on the strength of the wielder. And Erza had an enormous amount of magic power.

Teleportation magic, on the other hand, would catch anything that went through the teleportation field. Unlike dimension magic. Her bet would be on dimension magic, since teleportation magic wasn't overly powerful and was known in some variety by many of the high ranked wizards. Still, she had to be sure.

Finding a good sized rock nearby, she tossed it through the open door. It landed on the stone floor with an audible clunk.

Dimension magic then. More specifically, terra-locked dimension magic. Unlike spontaneous dimension magic, terra-locked dimension magic was restricted to a specific location, set by the caster, and triggered by specific actions. In this case, opening the door to the house had unlocked the dimensional magic, and stepping through the threshold had activated it.

Terra-locked dimension magic had one major weakness that the spontaneous variety lacked. If she could get the caster away from the location, it would be fairly easy to disable the caster. This would keep him from interfering as the other members tried to find their way out.

But Terra-locked dimension magic also had its strengths. Unlike spontaneous dimension magic, it could create up to 20 different dimensions in the location it was tied to, depending on the magic power of the caster, and anybody activating the magic would be transported to a different dimension. This would allow the caster to divide the group and conquer them individually. She wasn't too worried about Natsu or Mira. She'd felt the magic power the two of them possessed. But Wendy… Or even worse, the exceeds…

Wendy had lots of potential. She remembered all too well the girl's strength from her battle against her and the god slayer. But she was still young. She couldn't fully utilize her raw magic power yet.

The exceeds, on the other hand, didn't have a lot of magic power. Without their dragon slayer partners, they wouldn't stand a chance against a mage with any kind of power.

And there was a good chance that the man they were attacking knew this too.

Dimaria growled, frustrated at her inability to do anything in her current situation. She could stop time, but it would only affect the dimension in which she currently existed. That would do her no good unless the man she was targeting was there in the current dimension.

Right now she only had two options. 1. Wait for the man to come back to her. 2. Run into his trap Natsu-style and destroy dimensions till she found him.

Plan 2 would require a lot of magic power and energy, even for a mage as powerful as her. There was no guarantee she would even have enough magic left to beat Nurako once she found him. However, it would be the fastest way to be certain of finding the rest of the team.

Plan 1 would work only if Nurako decided to leave his dimensions without dealing with the other team members first.

The pragmatic thing to do was sacrifice the team – or at least one of their members. She had no doubt that Natsu and Mira could look out for themselves. And really, losing one team member wasn't that big a deal.

Then again, she knew Fairy Tail wouldn't see it that way. Unlike her previous allies, Fairy Tail cared about all its members. Even the weaker ones.

For the first time in a long time, Dimaria didn't know what to do.

 **~~~Natsu~~~**

"What the fuck is this?" Natsu looked around. He wasn't inside a house, but in a large, open field that stretched out for miles in every direction. Hadn't he just come into a house? Was this even possible?

Apparently it was possible, because this is what he was seeing. But how? How far away were they from the house? And what kind of magic could teleport him so far from his team?

But he had other things to worry about. He quickly realized the grass in this field wasn't normal as it began to rise up around him, reaching for his legs. His instincts told him it would be really bad if it got ahold of him.

He demolished the grass with a quick fire dragon's roar, making sure to burn the patch he was standing on too. At first it seemed to work, but then the entire ground started moving below him.

 _Oh shit._ He jumped up just in time as two tendrils tried to grab his ankles, using his flames to fly. The ground below him was molding like clay, forming arms and hands that were shooting up at him from all sides.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" He hit fourteen of the giant hands coming from in front of him, shattering them to dust, but more sprang up in their place. He growled and flew high above the plains, wishing Happy had transported to his dimension with him. For one, it would save him a little magic power. But there was also a good chance that Happy wasn't surviving as well in his dimension.

Punching and kicking his way through the earth that was trying to grab him still, Natsu tried to figure out a weak spot in this weird ground. There had to be some way to defeat it, after all. He kept blasting away pieces with his fire dragon's roar, and after a while he noticed that the limbs were taking longer to reform.

"Great. This thing can get weaker, whatever it is." He grinned, suddenly seeing a spot that seemed better protected than the rest of the open ground. "I'm willing to bet that's where I want to hit. Fire Dragon King's Demolition Fist!"

With a roar, the dragon slayer burst through the cords of earth protecting the spot in the field. There was an enormous crater, and what followed was surprising.

Cracks appeared all around him. On the ground. In the skies. Even vertically where nothing should be, as though he were in some kind of enormous room. Then the world shattered into shards, leaving him on a giant mountain range.

"What the fuck?" He said, standing on top of one of the mountains. Then a rock hand formed, attacking him.

"Here we go again," he sighed.

 **~~~Wendy~~~**

She wasn't sure where she was, but she didn't like it. There was some kind of light illuminating her space, but it wasn't sunlight. Nor was it moonlight. It was simply an eerie, pale glow that made everything around her surreal. The dirt she was standing on seemed to be a thick clay, and as she watched animals began to form out of the clay. Wolves, tigers, giant serpents, and even small dragons rose up all around her.

 _I wish I had Natsu-nii's attack power_ , Wendy thought as she prepared herself for battle. She didn't know what this was, but she could tell from the scent that none of these creatures were actually alive. This had to be the work of some bizarre make magic.

She didn't have any more time to think of it as the creatures started attacking. She quickly swept herself away with a gust of wind, up and out of their reach into the sky. That should buy her more time to think.

To her dismay, the animals below her all sprouted clay wings and shot up into the sky. Of course this couldn't be that easy…

With a battle cry she dove toward the nearest creature, a wolf with wings that looked eerily like a bat. It shattered as she hit it with a full-power wing attack, falling back to the clay below.

"Perhaps if I use sky drill I can buy myself some more time," Wendy said as she soared in closer to some of the other creatures. She hit them with her shattering sky drill, which destroyed three of the serpents and a whole pack of wolves. But there were still many more approaching.

She soon found that these clay creations didn't take a lot of magical energy to destroy, so she decided to take them one at a time, keeping her exertion down till she figured out who or what was controlling them. That was what really needed to be dealt with.

She kicked through a tiger, watching it shatter behind her. Then she led with a punch into a fierce looking hyena. Still more waves of animals came up through the ground, seemingly rising as fast as they were dropping. Wendy hit a large group with a sky dragon's roar, making a large empty cone to her right. But almost immediately the path closed, filled with more of the strange clay creatures that were trying to claim her.

 **~~~Mira~~~**

She wasn't sure what kind of psychedelic universe she was in, but she wasn't anywhere on earthland. The sky was lit by a neon green sun, which cast a strange sheen over the myriads of completely chaotic buildings that loomed around her. She sweat-dropped at the disorganization of the place. It was worse than Natsu and Happy's old house when it hadn't been cleaned for a month.

Well, the first thing to figure out was how to get out of here…

 **THUMP**. Mirajane leaped to the side just in time. Scratch that. The first thing to do was stop these weird structures from attacking.

Well, one thing she could say for sure… This was certainly one of the weirdest magics she'd ever experienced.

A building looking something like a square yo-yo on a pyramid-topped tube swung the yo-yo portion at her, and she heard it make a loud clang as it hit another building after she dodged. Great. This was probably metal too.

With a sigh she transformed into Satan Soul and the fun started.

First she destroyed the building closest to her with a huge blast. The metal disappeared in an instant, but another began to grow in its place. Dodging a large metal sphere that was attached to some kind of weird, folded triangular pattern, she analyzed the rate at which the building reformed itself. She came to the conclusion that if this was the maximum rate at which the buildings could be produced, she would be able to level the entire area using her Halphas soul and have about 10 seconds to try to find a way out before the next batch of buildings were done.

"Well, here goes nothing." She said aloud as she transformed into Halphas. Almost instantly the entire 'city,' if it could be called such, was demolished, leaving a flat, hot purple surface beneath her. But off to her right she noticed a sort of shimmer in the explosion. She aimed another explosion in that direction to confirm.

Sure enough, there was a stronger shimmer this time, and cracks in the bright purple plain below her. Finally! A way out!

She focused all the power of her blast on that spot this time, and suddenly the entire world around her cracked and splintered before exploding into billions of tiny shards.

The world she now found herself in was entirely covered with water. "Oh great," she sighed, transforming to Satan Soul again to conserve energy. "Should've stuck with crazy town."

 **~~~Dimaria~~~**

She'd already broken through 8 dimensions when she arrived in the flame-covered mountains. She sighed. At this rate she'd use up almost all her magic power before she could even be of use to any of her companions. Well… Nothing to do but destroy this one too and hope that the others had managed to destroy some dimensions as well.

She was still searching for the weak point when suddenly a light flashed in the middle of the fiery mountain. A pink-haired dragon slayer appeared from the midst of the light.

"Natsu!" Dimaria called out with a grin. "That means we're close to the end."

"The end of what?" The dragon slayer asked, confused.

Dimaria sighed, realizing he had no idea what kind of magic they were dealing with here. "This is dimensional magic, Natsu. There's no time to explain all of it to you, but let's just say that there could be up to 20 dimensions that we have to break before we finally trap this guy. Once we break down all his dimensions, he should be substantially weakened. We have to get out of this one, though. No idea what this fire does, but it's uncomfortably hot."

"Great!" Natsu grinned. "Breaking out of here will be a cinch once I've eaten!"

"Umm… Is this really the time to eat?" Dimaria asked.

"What better time than when you have an all-you-can-eat buffet?" Natsu grinned. Then he started sucking up the flames from the hottest part of the mountain.

 _Oh right. I forgot that dragon slayers can eat their own element._ She watched as his strength replenished before her eyes. In moments, he was good as new again.

"Do you know where the weak point is?" Natsu asked.

"Well, seeing as he wouldn't want the weak point to be discovered, my guess is that it would be in the place that's hardest to get to…" She pointed toward the lava core of the fiery volcanic mountain.

"Ok great," Natsu grinned, diving headfirst into the Lava. "Fire Dragon King's Demolition Fist!"

There was a huge explosion and the dimension shattered around them, leaving them in an odd, clay world with an eerie lighting. Looking up, Dimaria saw hundreds of creatures of various shapes and sizes – all with wings – flying around in the sky. Chasing something or someone.

"Wendy!" Natsu shouted next to her. That would be those dragon slayer senses again. So this was where the sky dragon slayer was.

Dimaria froze time and in an instant all the creatures were shattered to dust.

"Natsu!" Wendy called out, tackling the pink-haired man to the ground. "Thank goodness! I'm really starting to get tired."

Dimaria just smiled. "Let's get out of here," she said quietly.

 **~~~Mirajane~~~**

She crashed through into another dimension. This one was a large forest with trees that looked like deadwood. No leaves anywhere in sight. Some of the trees reached for her, but she easily dodged and blasted them to oblivion. She flew high in the air, still in Satan Soul, and was scanning for a weak spot when she caught sight of a man in a black hood.

"You!" She yelled, heading for him quickly. But she stopped as the man held up a blue cat with one hand. The other held a knife to the exceed's throat.

"If you value your pets' lives, you'll come down slowly…" the man said, his eyes glinting. "I'm impressed that you and your friends managed to break through so many of my dimensions, but this is where it ends."

Mira came slowly to the ground, slipping out of Satan Soul. "What is it you want?"

"What do I want?" The man asked, sounding incredulous. "You come with the intent to invade my home. You destroy all my carefully crafted defenses. And you ask me what I want?

"Don't play dumb," Mirajane growled. "Why are you after Natsu's child."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the man said. "I'm just defending my home from intruders."

Mira just smirked as the branches caught hold of her. "Natsu is here… and believe me when I tell you that you don't want to deal with an angry dragon. You might want to just tell me what's wrong now."

"When and if he gets here, he'll have no choice to surrender as well. Unless he wants to see his "best friend" die in front of his face," the man chortled.

Mira glared at him. "I thought the idea of your secret council was to 'protect' people, Nurako." She said. "Not kill people who are substantially weaker than you for sport."

Nurako studied her from beneath his hood. "You seem to know a lot for a little girl with a big mouth," he said quietly. "Where did you get this information?"

"Like I'm going to tell you that…" Suddenly Mira realized that taunting him may not have been such a good idea.

"I'm pretty good at extracting information," the man said. A thorny tree branch struck Mira across the back, causing her to cry out in pain. "Now tell me who the informant is."

"You know, you'd think that all you dark mages would learn by now…" Mirajane said through gritted teeth as a thorny vine smacked her hard across the chest. "Fairy Tail doesn't cave in to your demands. Ultimately, you'll get nothing out of me. And you'll end up in prison."

"We'll see about that." She was assaulted by a string of thorn vines and branches, causing her to scream in pain again. The branches tore her clothing and skin, leaving bleeding lines all over her body.

 _Natsu, please get here soon,_ she prayed, not daring to activate her magic. She knew her opponent would follow through on his threat to kill the exceeds.

"There is more than one way to make you talk," the man said with a grin, putting the exceeds, chained tightly, under a tree similar to the one that was holding Mirajane captive. "Especially a young girl with a body like yours." He advanced toward her, a malicious gleam in his eye.

"Touch me and you die," Mira growled, struggling against the vines that held her.

"Brave words, girl. But who's going to kill me? Your boyfriend who's gonna come for me?"

"Natsu's not my boyfriend…" Her voice trembled a little as she said that, betraying the sadness she felt at never being able to be with the man she'd fallen in love with. "But then, you already know that."

The man smirked. "So you love him. Even better. When he gets here, I'll make him watch while I ravish every part of your young, beautiful body. And maybe when I'm done with that, I'll even let him have a turn."

"Natsu would never—"

"If I ordered him to he would," the man grinned maliciously. "You should thank me. How else are you going to get with Natsu?"

And Mirajane suddenly felt herself torn between hoping for Natsu's arrival and hoping he wouldn't get there until she figured out a way out of this mess. Natsu would never lose hope, but she was beginning to think there was no way out of this somebody ending up dead.


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. They all belong to Mashima

This is a slightly shorter chapter. I was going to write a much longer interrogation scene, but I realized that if I finished what I'd planned I would probably have to change the rating to M... so... Here's the story. Read and Review please!**

* * *

Mirajane shuddered with repulsion as Nurako advanced. He ripped away what was left of her top, his face twisting into a lustful leer.

"You know, I'm going to enjoy this a lot more than you are," he smirked, unzipping his trousers.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light about 30 feet from them. It took Mira's eyes a few minutes before she was able to see again, but when she was able to focus she saw Natsu, Dimaria, Wendy, and Carla.

"Ah. You're all here," Nurako smirked as he dropped his pants to the floor. "Now you can all watch while I take this girl."

"Like that's gonna' happen, you sick fuck." Natsu growled, fire engulfing his hand.

"Of course it is, unless you want your little pet over there to die," Nurako motioned back to happy, who was being held by the same thorny vines that clung to Mirajane.

Natsu cursed. "Dimaria." He said.

Nurako looked at the blonde mage, who didn't move an inch. After a second he said, "Ah. So that's your magic. You should know that it won't work in my dimensions anymore now that I'm aware of it."

Suddenly Dimaria disappeared from where she was, and Nurako was blocking a slice to his upper ribcage.

"Sorry, but that was unacceptable. I'm killing the kitty now."

But there were no screams or cries from the blue exceed, and Mirajane suddenly registered that the vines that held her were gone. Dimaria smirked. "I can do a lot in a small space of time." She said.

The man's face turned red with fury. "You'll pay for that. No matter how powerful you are, we're in my world now! Dimensional Hazard: Thorny Retribution!"

Enormous thorny vines sprung from the ground, attacking the group from all sides. But now they had four capable mages ready to battle, with the exceeds well out of reach of the ground.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Thorns shattered all around.

"Soul Extinction!" More thorns were destroyed.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" More of the vines crumbled into dust.

Dimaria moved into a rhythmic motion, almost like a dance. Her swordplay was beautiful to watch, and as Mira and Natsu looked toward the beautiful mage both couldn't help but stare as shards fell all around her.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" The attack hit both Mira and Natsu, along with some of the thorns around them that had been about to strike.

"Shit." Natsu turned back to the perimeter. "Fire Dragon King's Roar!" The entire landscape for a good quarter mile was demolished in a long cone, smoldering and burning. No more thorns jumped up from that direction.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Shattering Sky Drill!" More of the thorns coming toward Wendy were blown away, leaving a huge crater over 200 meters wide.

"Take over: Halphas!" As Mira used the form that was able to destroy a whole city, another enormous blow was dealt to the dimensional magic.

"Natsu, I found the weak spot!" Dimaria yelled. "It's past Wendy, 200 meters!"

"Great," Natsu grinned. "Cover me!"

He dashed out through the thorny vines that continued to spring up, dodging some and punching his way through others as he soared to his target. As he was almost there, he saw Nurako move to block his way.

"Fire Dragon King's Demolition Punch!" He pretended to aim the attack at Nurako, but at the last minute slipped past him and hit the terrain near the spot Dimaria had indicated. The resulting blast blew Nurako, as well as any thorny vines and ground within 500 meters, away. Cracks began to appear in the ground and the sky.

"Wow, I'm surprised that didn't do it. Guess I'll have to hit it one more time." Natsu said. Putting as much energy as he could into the next strike, he punched the spot on the ground again. The cracks widened and the dimension shattered suddenly, leaving the attacking group and Nurako in the old stone house where the mage lived.

It wasn't long before the mage, now outside of his zone of power, was captured and bound with anti-magic cuffs. "So, who would like the first shot at extracting information?" Natsu asked.

"Please let me do it," Mirajane said, a devilish smirk on her face as she looked at Nurako. Mira had used her transformation magic to make sure she was covered.

Natsu gave her a nod. "Go ahead. But remember, we need him conscious and talking."

Mirajane grinned. "Oh, don't worry… He'll be conscious. I brought my kit with me."

She proceeded to reach into the bag and pull out a small box, no bigger than a person's hand, which she then opened. The first thing she pulled out were two small, metal frames that were just the right size for an eye.

"Do you know what these are?" She asked the mage, a demonic aura rippling from her.

He looked at them and shook his head mutely.

"These are magic eye frames. Once I put them in your eyes, they'll adjust perfectly to the unique shape of your eyes, forming a metal frame around the outside of your eyeball that will keep the flap of skin known as your eyelid from moving."

"In other words," she said as she put the pieces in his eyes. "You won't be able to blink."

"Do you know why we blink?" She continued, as the man's eyes began to water a little. "We blink to keep the surface of our eyes moist. The moisture is important for many reasons, but you don't really need to understand all of those. What you need to understand is that as you go longer without blinking, first your eyes will begin to water as they dry out. Then they'll start to hurt. Eventually, the pain will get extremely intense and you'll get this feeling like there's sand or grit stuck in your eyes. There could be permanent damage, including blindness, if your eyes are held open long enough."

Nurako's eyes were turning red, and he gritted his teeth against the pain.

"Now," Mirajane said. "We could do two things here. One, you could help me out by telling me everything you know about the other members of your 'council,' after which I will remove these, or two, you can personally experience each phase of damage to your eyes until they are permanently damaged. And then we can move on to the next method."

"Aren't those illegal?" The man growled at her.

"Without a doubt," she smiled at him demonically. "But I'm pretty sure as far as my team here is concerned, I never had them. And you…" She smirked. "Are you going to rat me out to the council?"

"Aah!" The man said, both a grunt of anger and visible pain. "I may not be able to report you to the council, but believe me when I tell you that I will get my revenge."

"Not from behind bars," Mirajane said sweetly.

"How are you going to turn me in to the council without me ratting you out?"

Mirajane was surprised when Natsu stepped in. "Have you ever heard of sanctioned use of illegal magic?"

Nurako, who was clearly no stranger to the way the council worked, nodded his head.

Natsu smirked. "Good, because that's precisely what I have on this mission. And it extends to my entire team. The council has sanctioned the use of 'any means necessary' to extract information pertaining to your and your friends. This is the first the rest of my team has heard of it," he said apologetically, "but now they can proceed with whatever methods they choose with confidence."

Mira smirked and turned back to the dark council mage. "So where were we?"

"Ah yes," she said as she looked at his red, scratchy looking eyes. "You were about to tell me about the other members of this self-established council of yours."

"I have nothing to say." Nurako said, clenching his teeth in pain.

"Hmm…" Mira pulled out another item. This one was a small, clear vial filled with a purplish gray colored liquid. "Well, as your eyes are adjusting to their new, unmoving state, let's keep things moving along. This," she held the bottle up, opening it slowly, "contains a special acidic compound that reacts to the keratin in your fingernails, dissolving it almost instantly. Dimaria, if you would be so kind as to hold the prisoner's hands in place…"

Dimaria grabbed his cuffed hands and splayed them out forcefully, watching as Mira dripped four drops of the potion on his thumbnail. In a mere second, the nail was gone.

"Now the skin under your fingernails is extremely sensitive," Mira said, taking a needle out of her bucket and giving him a poke to demonstrate. "Not to mention raw and bleeding." She slowly treated each of his fingernails in the same manner. Nurako gritted his teeth, but made no other motion.

"And this is sandpaper," she announced, pulling out a piece of the rough-surfaced material that was made for stripping away sand.

"Oh, and one more thing…" She breathed deeply. "I was kind of afraid to try this before now, but I think I've got a handle on this soul now… Take over: Mirajane-Kyouka!"

The transformation was instantaneous. While her face itself retained her unique facial structure, the rest of it, including her hair, horns, and curvaceous body, morphed to the appearance of the demoness. More importantly for Nurako, however, her powers also changed to mirror Kyouka's.

"Increasing pain sensitivity times 5," she said with an evil smirk.

Suddenly the sullen but defiant Nurako was screaming in pain, his red eyes watering frantically as they tried to force him to close them.

"Now let me know when you're ready to talk," Mirajane-Kyouka smirked with her evil grin.

She then took a piece of sandpaper and began sanding the skin where his thumbnail used to be.

Nurako screamed in pain. His eyes were watering so badly that it was impossible to tell whether tears came to them or not. He still remained silent, despite the whimpering and screaming.

She shrugged and moved on to his index finger, moving the sandpaper swiftly this time to peel away a layer of the sensitive skin.

Blood dripped from both fingers onto the table Nurako was sitting at as he screamed again. His screams continued for 3 long minutes before he had a short break to catch his breath. In that space he screamed out "Alright! I'll talk! Just release the curse power!"

"After you give us what we want," Mirajane-Kyouka replied.

"Alright! Alright! But I only know two names! Seth Gardite and Kai Jaska. That's all I know! I swear!"

"Kai Jaska? As in the new captain of the council's special operations division?" Mira almost yelled.

"Yes, that fucking Kai. Now please stop this!" Nurako cried, still in agony.

Mirajane released him from the curse magic and removed her torture aids from his eyes, putting them back into her bag. The team looked at each other, concerned now. She then bandaged his fingers individually.

"Alright, guess we're done here." She said with a smile. "Let's drop him off with the council."

"Actually, we need to talk." Natsu bound Nurako securely and moved to an area where they were out of earshot. "We can't give the council both of these names yet," he said in a hushed voice.

"Why not?" Wendy asked. "They should know that one of their captains is working with dark mages."

Dimaria stepped in. "I agree with Natsu. For two reasons. First, all we have so far is the word of one of the members against the word of a high ranking soldier in the council's army. Second, we don't even know yet that he's telling the truth, so opening a council investigation at this point would be foolish. We at least know where Kai is, so he'll be the easiest one to find."

Mira was thinking. "I don't think we should tell them either name," she said, surprising all of them.

"Why not Mira?" Natsu asked.

"Because if the head of the council's special operations division is really in league with them, he'll know everything we report to the council from this operation. That includes who's on our team and what kind of magic all of us use."

"But wouldn't they have known about this too?"

"Yes." Mira said. "And didn't you notice that the man was prepared for me, Natsu, and Wendy? He obviously planned on trapping Happy beforehand. But since you joined our guild right before we set out on this operation, he didn't know you were going to be here. Which worked out very well for me," she added.

"That's pretty impressive Mira," Natsu said.

Mirajane just smiled.

"Alright, new plan," Natsu said quietly. "Dimaria stops time and dumps him at a council outpost with a note saying that we're following up a lead and can't tell them anymore at the moment. Then we go after this Seth person and see what information we can get out of him."

"The council won't be too happy with us deciding to just go off on our own like this."

Natsu shrugged. "They did sanction 'any means necessary,' and I deem this necessary."

"Natsu!" Mirajane said in surprise. "When did you develop that?"

"What?" Natsu asked, staring at her.

"A brain," Mirajane giggled.

Natsu growled and threw a small fireball at her, which she easily dodged.

"Well, let's get going."

 **~~~A little while later, Fairy Tail guild hall~~~**

"Master, there's an emergency call from the council!" Meredy announced.

Makarov quickly went to his office, where the communications lacrima sat on the table.

"Master Makarov," the voice belonged to Wolfheim. "I trust all is well with you?"

"It was until you called," Makarov said. "I can only assume you have news for me?"

Wolfheim laughed. "Always right to the point, eh Makarov? That explains where your brats get it from."

Makarov sighed. "It's good to see you Wolfheim. Are you doing well?"

"I'm quite well, thank you," the council member and second-ranked wizard saint replied. "And to answer your earlier question, we do have news, though I'll let you decide whether it's good news or bad news."

"Well, go ahead with it," Makarov responded gruffly.

"We received a communication from one of our outposts recently. It seems that the man your team was sent to apprehend and interrogate was delivered to an outpost just a couple hours ago."

"Great, so what progress have the brats made?"

"We don't know. It appears that Nurako just appeared at the outpost, bound with anti-magic restraints, and there was a short letter attached to him. I won't read the whole thing now, but the gist of it was that the team didn't have time to delay and was following up a lead. They said they couldn't elaborate further till they had more information."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," Wolfheim said.

"I haven't heard a thing from the brats since they left. And I don't expect to now."

Wolfheim sighed. "If you do hear from them, please make sure they know that they're walking a dangerous line here. Their sanction on any and all methods required only holds if they stick to the agreement. And the agreement is to keep us informed."

"I'm sure they'll let us know as soon as they have anything solid."

"I hope so, Makarov."

And with that the communication was terminated.

"Damn brats," Makarov growled, slamming his fists on the table. He had to make a decision now. "Meredy!" He called.

Meredy came into his office and bowed. "Yes, master Makarov?"

"Close the door." After she complied, he continued. "I just received word that the team we sent out left their target at a council outpost with a note attached to him. The note didn't go into much detail. It only said they were following a lead. I want to know what you make of that."

Meredy frowned. "Well, if it was just Natsu I'd say he got some news and ran off impatiently to chase the lead down. But he has Dimaria and Mira with him, not to mention Wendy…"

"Yes. Those three are there precisely to reign in his impulses. Which means that this must be more than just an impulsive charge into battle."

Meredy sighed. "The only conclusion I can come to is that they believe telling the council will jeopardize their mission."

"I thought the same," Makarov replied. "Which means that the council has also realized this. But they also haven't communicated with us."

Meredy shrugged. "That's obviously because they can't put you in a compromising position on this. Their team is essentially acting on their own here, so if the council decides to pull them before they can gather the information they need, nobody else will be implicated in their choices."

"They should know I don't care about that!" Makarov growled, pounding his fists on the table. "I want to know what's going on with my brats so I can help them."

"I'm sure they do know that master. I've only been here a short time, and I know that," Meredy said. "But they also know that the guild still needs you, especially with everything that's going on right now."

Makarov sighed. "I realize that, but it doesn't make it any easier. They are still my brats after all."

Meredy laughed. "Is there anything else, master?"

Makarov waved his hand dismissively. "You can go."

After she had left, Makarov stared in the direction the team had departed. "Stay safe, brats," he said quietly. "And don't do anything too stupid."


	13. Chapter 13

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. They belong to Hiro Mashima

And here's the next chapter of "The Size of His Heart." After that it's on to "Fiery Jade," and then Lost. Should be interesting to see who wins that poll...

* * *

Brandish smiled softly as she looked down at the baby she was holding in her arms. It was good to be able to hold her daughter, especially in her husband's absence. Plus, as much as she doubted it at first, Erza's presence in their mansion helped lift her spirits as well.

Perhaps it was because the red-haired mage was a little like Natsu in her own way. While she was more stoic and disciplined on the outside, she was just as stubborn and even childish in the few moments where she allowed it to shine through.

"Akemi," Brandish whispered as she rocked the child. "Your daddy will be home soon. He's just making sure you're safe from the bad people who want to take you from us." Perhaps it was her imagination, but Akemi seemed to sleep easier in her arms after those words.

"How's she doing?" Brandish looked up at the sound of Erza's voice as the knight came quietly into the room. She wore her standard Heart Kruz armor, the armor that Brandish hadn't seen her without since the day of her battle with Jellal. Even when she was helping with the baby, she might have the bracers off, or even the leggings sometimes, but she never removed the whole armor set.

"Sleeping peacefully now," Brandish replied with a smile. Akemi gave them quite a time that day. At first Brandish thought she was sick, but after a quick visit to the grumpy woman at the infirmary they ruled that out. Brandish was never happier to see the girl asleep.

"That's good," Erza said, sitting with a groan in the chair next to Brandish. She was now pretty much fully healed from her fight with Jellal. Physically, at least. "Today was really an exhausting day, wasn't it?"

Brandish merely nodded. With Natsu's absence she was beginning to feel more emotionally exhausted with each passing day. She tried not to worry about him, telling herself that the mage who managed to take down Zeref and Acnologia could handle himself against anything. But they hadn't heard anything about him for over a week, and the first member of the "dark council" had been turned in to the rune knights 3 days ago.

"You might be more comfortable if you take your armor off," she commented after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"My armor is comfortable," Erza replied quietly.

Brandish frowned. Despite the fact that this woman had once loved – no, still loved – her husband, she couldn't stand seeing such a powerful mage in a state of such utter weakness. But what could she do? It seemed like the knight's only softer moments came when she was holding Akemi, her eyes betraying the unspoken wish that the baby could've been her own.

Before she could say anything further, though, Erza got up. "I'm going to bed now," she said quietly, heading out of the room.

Brandish sighed and nodded. "Good night Erza."

"Good night," the knight replied as she closed the door behind her.

Brandish sat looking at her child for several more minutes after the redhead departed. She wondered how anybody could want to kill a young child. She looked so innocent, so sweet, in her arms, that even her difficult times were washed away by the feeling of holding her.

 **~~~~~~On the outskirts of Lilac, a village in the western wilderness of Fiore~~~~~~**

"Shit, this isn't good." Natsu growled, crouching behind a stone wall that overlooked the mansion their tip took them on. The problem wasn't so much in the location as the current company. And by company, he meant the company of Rune Knights that stood guard at various points around the mansion.

"I could get us in there by stopping time," Dimaria said quietly. "We could have him out before the Rune Knights even realized anything was wrong."

"I can't authorize that till we know what kind of magic he uses," Natsu replied quietly, and Mirajane nodded. "Even if the possibility is low, he might have a way of getting past your control of time."

"With all due respect, I think the chances of that are very low..." Dimaria responded, a little irritation showing in her voice.

"Low or not, I don't want to take the risk. If the Rune Knights are alerted to our presence it won't be just us who suffer. Fairy Tail will suffer as well."

"So if they see us we kill them. The Rune Knights are pretty weak after all."

"We are not killing an entire company of Rune Knights. One, they're just following orders and probably have no idea who this person is. Two, if we do that, we'll have a bounty on our heads and Fairy Tail will come under close scrutiny, which will make it harder for my guild mates to protect my daughter."

"Things were so much easier when I was just serving under Lord Zeref," Dimaria said with a sigh.

Natsu didn't even bother responding. He was too busy trying to figure out a good solution here. Mira could use Sayla's macro to put the guards to sleep, but then the guards would see her. That, of course, would lead everyone right to his team. Dimaria's time stop ability seemed like the best option, but supposedly all members of the dark council used some sort of lost magic. What if one of them used something similar to Ultear's arc of time? He couldn't take the chance that they might be seen by the guards assaulting someone that the council was apparently tied to, or at least protecting.

Right now the only viable option seemed to be waiting for the person they were after to leave the house. But even then that wouldn't guarantee they wouldn't have to deal with an escort.

But maybe…

"Dimaria, can you bring people with you when you stop time?"

"At least the whole team," she smirked.

Natsu shrugged. "We just need one. I need you to take Mirajane in after he falls asleep."

"Mirajane?" Dimaria raised an eyebrow. "You plan on taking him when he's asleep?"

"Nope, still can't chance him waking up and this coming back to Fairy Tail. But fortunately for us, Mira can wake him up and Macro him."

"Oh, that makes sense." Mira smiled at Natsu.

"Well, that's a plan then." Natsu smirked. "After nightfall, the two of you will go in and get him. Then we'll remove him to a safe location where we can extract the information."

"This seems almost too easy." Dimaria said as she prepared to go in with Mirajane.

Natsu sighed. He didn't like the fact that she was so cocky. You'd think she would've learned something from her defeat at the hands of Wendy and Chelia, but it seemed that wasn't the case. She was still ready to charge in, confident of her power to debilitate her opponents with her time spells. He knew Zeref was also able to manipulate the flow of time to some extent from his encounter with him in Tartaros. And if Ultear and Zeref could do it, there was a good chance there were others that could do it as well.

Of course, there was also a good chance the man they were after could resist Sayla's macro, but that was a chance he had to take. And also the reason he was doing it at night. Darkness had the best cover if they did need a quick escape, and he was pretty certain that Dimaria and Mirajane together could handle the man they were after without causing a scene.

Still, as darkness crept over the sky he felt anxiety tugging at his heart like a wraith trying to pull him into the black abyss of fear. Leading a team came naturally to him, so people said, but he felt so inexperienced at it. What if he made a wrong decision? What if sending Dimaria and Mirajane in without knowing their opponent's magic ended up with the capture of his team? Worse yet, what if somebody died?

Everything was so much easier when Natsu acted for himself. As part of the team, he could make decisions that would affect him and not worry about the rest of the people around him. If he got sick from eating another element, it wouldn't make anyone else suffer. But here, if he made the wrong call, somebody else would get hurt. Even though he had to act confidently, one wrong move, no matter how much confidence he had, could be disastrous.

But he couldn't allow those thoughts to control him. If he did, he would be paralyzed. Unable to make a move of any kind for fear it was the wrong one. He remembered a conversation he had with gramps a long time ago. The old man told him that on the battlefield, no decision you make is worse than not making a decision. Now he had to act on faith for those words.

It seemed like only a few seconds went by when Dimaria and Mirajane returned with a tall man, close to Laxus Dreyar's height, but closer to Elfman's build. The man was awake and very compliant, following Mirajane's macro completely.

"See?" Dimaria said with a smirk. "Told you it would be no trouble."

"Even so, better we do it this way and don't run into trouble than try it the other way and get surprised." Natsu reprimanded the woman. Then he turned to Mirajane. "Alright, since your macro seems to be working exactly the way you want it to, why don't you go ahead and get all the information you can out of him."

"Alright," Mira smiled and turned toward the man, going back to the Mirajane-Sayla soul. "Ok Seth," she addressed the man while staring into his eyes. "You will tell me everything you know about the other members of your council."

"Other members? Council?" The man looked confused, as though trying to remember. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look here Seth," Mira said, struggling to keep her voice calm and sweet. "One of your friends on the council gave us your name, so we know you're a part of this. We just need to know what you know about it."

"I don't know anything about it," the man replied, still under macro.

"You must know something. A first name? A city name? Anything?"

Seth just shook his head.

"Mira, ask him what kind of magic he uses," Natsu said.

Mira looked confused, but nodded, looking at the man. "What kind of magic do you use?"

"I don't understand the question."

Now everyone was even more confused. What the fuck was wrong here?

"Mira," Natsu said quietly to get her attention. Once she turned, he signaled her with his eyes to follow him away from the main group. She quickly did as instructed.

"Is there any chance that Sayla's macro doesn't actually affect him?"

Mira shook her head. "No. I can't really explain it, but I know if the subject isn't fully under control of the macro. And he is. There's something else wrong here…"

Natsu sighed. "Alright, we don't have time to figure it out what's going on here. We need somebody who can give us answers. Fast."

"You called?"

Natsu turned at the voice in amazement to see Mavis's spirit body. The first master had an angelic smile on her face as she looked at the team.

"First Master! How… How did you get here?"

Mavis shrugged. "I had a feeling you would need me, so I came."

"Umm…" Natsu looked at the group, then at the man known as Seth Gardite, then back to Mavis. "Well, if you can help us I guess I'm not complaining. Can you tell us what's happening here?"

Mavis nodded, the smile never leaving her face. "I've just finished my magical analysis, and the answer is simple. This man is an artificial magic replication of the person you are actually after. Basically a magically created clone with nothing but basic speech functions and personality."

"Do you know what kind of magic this is?" Natsu asked.

Mavis nodded again, her face becoming a little more serious. "This is a very complicated magic that few people can master to this degree. It allows people to create clones of themselves for the purposes of deception and recon. Recon because the person will see and hear what the clone sees and hears. But if the clone is destroyed, the only loss to the person is the magic power that went into making the clone."

"Wait… So the real Seth Gardite knows who we are now?" Natsu said, the color beginning to drain from his face.

"Probably not," Mavis replied. "The real Seth Gardite is probably asleep right now, just like his clone. Which means you have until he wakes up to find him and capture him. And any other clones he happens to have. Once he wakes up, he'll receive everything this clone saw and heard here as memories."

"Shit." Natsu thought for a few minutes. How were they going to find the other clones and him quickly. "Anything that might help?"

"Well, unlike the thought projection spell that Jellal used when he was on the council," Natsu scowled when he heard that name, but Mavis ignored him and continued, "this magic is limited by space. The clones can't be located any further than 5 miles from the source of the magic."

"So that means the real Seth has to be within 5 miles of this place." Natsu said. This was just great. They didn't know which direction to go, or how many clones there might be to apprehend. It was more than possible that they could go five miles just to find another clone. "Our best bet at this point is going to be to split up. Wendy and I will make sure we have a good memory of his scent. Then I'll go north with Mira and Happy while Wendy, Carla, and Dimaria head the other way. That way we can increase our chances of finding something without having to precisely pinpoint a location. Mavis can come with whichever team she wants, I guess."

Understanding there was no time to waste, the others just nodded their agreement. Natsu smelled the clone standing before them, with Wendy doing the same. Then they secured him to make sure he couldn't go anywhere and headed off. Natsu and Mira went north with Happy, skirting the mansion by a wide berth. Wendy, Carla, and Dimaria headed in the southern direction. Once they were about half a mile out, Natsu began to wind instead of taking a straight path through. He knew his sense of smell was accurate up to about a quarter mile, so he approximated a winding curve that spanned a quarter mile each way from an imaginary straight north line. However, after going at least 5 miles from the starting point he still didn't smell anything.

Not to be deterred, he quickly ran in an arc, approximating another quarter mile from the endpoint of his previous swathe, and began to head back toward the point of origin. An hour and a half had passed already. They needed to find something soon or…

Suddenly he felt a magical pulse from his communication lacrima. He quickly pulled it out. "What've you got?"

"Natsu, it's Dimaria. We found someone in an old hut out here, but it's just another clone."

"Alright, stay there. We're on our way to you. Have Carla fly up a ways so we can see you."

A few minutes later his sharp dragon-slayer eyes picked up the white exceed – barely more than speck in the night sky – about 6 miles from their location. Mira used her satan soul to cover the distance faster while Natsu just hit his top speed for as long as he could. Even at their high speeds, it still took them almost 20 minutes to reach them.

Mavis was already there when the trio arrived, and was analyzing the situation. "Dimaria, we need your map."

Dimaria brought out the map of their current region, and Mavis made two glowing points on the map. Then, slowly, a large circle appeared around those points, also glowing. It expanded out so that the two points were equidistant from the center.

"What's that, master?" Natsu asked, surprised.

"That is our new search area for the center," Mavis replied. "Anything outside that circle can't be the point of origin for this spell."

"Great," Natsu said. "Well, at least it's smaller than it was before. Ok teams. Same plan, let's go."

Immediately they were off again, not wasting anymore time chatting. A couple hours had already gone by, and their time to find the real Seth Gardite was diminishing rapidly.

Natsu was so preoccupied with worrying about the timetable that he almost didn't notice the familiar smell. Almost didn't hear the ground crackling under booted feet. Almost didn't sense the immense attack headed toward him and Mira. Almost.

A half instant before a white explosion shook the earth where they were standing, Natsu grabbed Mira and pulled her out of the way with one hand, tossing Happy into the air quickly with the other. The exceed took the hint and sprouted his wings just in time to get out of the way of the explosion of energy. Natsu and Mira were caught in the outer area of the blast radius, but not hard enough to be damaged.

"I must admit I'm impressed," a tall, muscular man with a shock of red hair greeted them. "Not many could've dodged that attack at such short range."

"Seth Gardite," Natsu ground out, taking in the man's appearance. He was currently wearing a black, flexible suit of armor with gold trim around the knees, feet, and legs and silver trim around the shoulders and gauntlets. Physically he looked just like his magic clones, but unlike his clones he had an immense aura of magic power around him.

"And you must be Natsu Dragneel, the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail," Seth replied with a smirk. "Which would make your gorgeous partner Mirajane Strauss, the demon of Fairy Tail. I must say, I'm surprised you found me so quickly."

"It appears you know why we're here then," Natsu said quietly. "I'm surprised you came after us by yourself."

Seth Gardite just offered a cold, arrogant smile. "There was no reason for me to bring backup against the two of you. When I discovered you'd chosen to separate from Dimaria, I knew this would be a great opportunity to apprehend you. But as for why you came, of course I know that. We were prepared for this when we put a hit out on your daughter."

Natsu's smirk disappeared instantly as his magic aura suddenly changed. Dark red flames encompassed his body, his eyes narrowing to red-orange slits as scales began to appear on his face, arms, and legs. He was now in the same form he'd used to kill Acnologia after the war with Alvarez was over, and the magic power coming off of him was the pressure of a dragon. Not just any dragon, the king of the fire dragons. Seth began to backpedal fearfully.

"What the fuck are you?" He half yelled.

"You picked the wrong thing to say," Mira smirked as she popped out of Satan Soul. "I hope there's enough of you left to interrogate once papa dragon gets through with you."

"Fuck this." Seth growled. "You're just a wizard, like anyone else. Heaven's Judgment!" A blinding flash of light fell from the sky toward Natsu, as a brilliant white ball of light descended with the speed of a meteor toward the dragon slayer.

"Fire Dragon King's Flaming Missile." Natsu shot a thin rope of flames from his hand that leapt out and intercepted the attack, causing a massive explosion in the sky above them.

Seth gaped, never imagining that anyone, especially this upstart dragon slayer from Fairy Tail, could actually block his attack without even getting damaged by it. Clearly his normal arsenal wouldn't cut it. For this fight he was forced to go straight to his most powerful spells. The ones used only in case of emergency.

"With heaven in my right hand," a white light began to form around his right hand, "and hell in my left hand," his left hand was encompassed by darkness, "I banish your name from the realm of the living. Be smitten by heaven and dragged down to hell. Holy Dark Horsemen of the Apocalypse!"

As soon as he finished the spell four shapes like men on horses, made completely of hell's darkness, charged from his hands. At the same time large shapes as of men with wings descended with swords from above. All of them converged quickly on the dragon slayer's location, creating first a blinding flash of light that was somehow then lost within a sphere of perfect darkness. When it disappeared, the dragon slayer was nowhere to be seen.

"NATSU!" Mirajane cried out, surprised. She was sure nothing could beat Natsu in that form.

"Hah! I knew you were all talk!" Seth said, seeming surprised but gleeful nonetheless. "So much for the mighty Salaman-oof!" He cut off abruptly as a foot connected forcefully with the back of his head, sending him flying several feet.

He was just getting back up when he heard "Fire Dragon King's Sword Horn!" He didn't have time to react before Natsu practically headbutted him, engulfed in fire, and sent him flying to the ground again. "Fire Dragon King's Iron Fist! Fire Dragon King's Demolition Fist!"

Suddenly Seth was lying in the middle of an enormous crater, fighting just to hold on to his consciousness. Just who the hell was this guy anyway? The last image he saw was of Natsu standing over him, a fierce predatory look in the orange slits that looked more reptilian than human…

"Natsu-san! Mira-san!" Wendy came running up, skidding to a stop at the edge of the newly formed crater.

"What… What happened?" Dimaria asked, sweating profusely as she surveyed the damage. Natsu had slipped out of dragon force and was now back to the normal pink-haired man they all knew and loved.

"Questions later. Grab him and let's get out of here before the rune knights come!" Natsu quickly picked up Seth Gardite, and the group fled the scene, stopping only long enough to destroy the clones to make sure they wouldn't cause any trouble.

 **~~~~~~The Next Day at Fairy Tail~~~~~~**

"Master Makarov, I know how you feel about your guild members, but we cannot allow this any longer. If Natsu Dragneel doesn't give an official report to the council within 48 hours, he and his entire team will be considered fugitives from justice. They will lose all immunity they had under our arrangement, and when they are apprehended they will all live out their years in the council prison. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely, Commander Jaska," Makarov replied respectfully. "If we hear from Natsu we'll be certain to pass the information on."

"You'd best do that, because if I come to find that you've been helping him avoid us, Natsu's team won't be the only ones sitting in jail for the rest of their lives."

With those words, the commander of the council's secret ops division cut the communication on their end. Makarov clenched his fists as soon as he knew the man could no longer see him.

"Meredy, we need to use the emergency communicator. Tell Natsu that if he and his team don't appear before the council with a full report by tomorrow evening, there's nothing I'll be able to do for them."

Meredy nodded and headed to the safe to retrieve the emergency lacrima they kept there. It was their only direct line to Natsu, and he told them they would only be able to use it once.

"Hello?" They heard Natsu's voice on the other end as soon as they contacted him. "I really hope this is an emrergency."

"It is," Makarov spoke grimly. "The council's given us an ultimatum. If you don't give them a full report by tomorrow evening they're going to imprison all of you once they do catch up to you."

There was a long pause and several hushed voices. Then Natsu spoke up again. "Alright, thanks gramps. We'll be there."

"Natsu… Stay safe," Makarov said quietly.

"Sure thing gramps," came the predictable answer. "Natsu out."

 **~~~~~~With Natsu and his Team~~~~~~**

Mira lifted the silence spell off the screaming mage who was currently handcuffed to the seat in front of Natsu, who now turned back toward their prisoner. "Well, as much as I was enjoying our little chat, I'm kind of in a hurry now, so we kind of need answers. Fast."

The man still couldn't say anything, his voice was hoarse and raspy from almost non-stop screaming for the past two hours. There was no blood. Just a few burn marks here and there, one of the latest being on his eye, which had just slowly burned away at Natsu's command over the past 15 minutes.

"Oh, guess it might be kind of hard for you to talk," Natsu said with a sigh. He released the small areas of the body where he had been literally causing the man's blood to boil. "Now, you can tell us what we need to know or I can take this up to level 2."

"Ok, ok!" Seth Gardite croaked out. "Just please don't hurt me anymore…"

Natsu's eyes turned to slits as he glared at the man in front of him. "Talk." He commanded.

And Seth Gardite, one of the three most powerful members of the dark council, immediately began spilling his guts to the team from Fairy Tail.

* * *

So there's that chapter. Read and Review as always!


	14. Chapter 14

**Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima, not to me. I own nothing... nothing!

So it's been a while since I updated this, but it's drawing to a close now. Here's chapter 14. Hope you all like it!**

* * *

Makarov glanced over at the timepiece again, tugging at his collar with one hand. When did it get so hot in here anyway? And where was Natsu? He assured them that his team would be there in time for this hearing!

Romulus must've been thinking along the same lines, because an arrogant smirk accentuated his already detestable features. Makarov scowled as the man leaned in, licking his lips like a predator waiting to strike. Of course he would wait till the two minutes expired. Then he would immediately call for the team to be hunted down and imprisoned with no questions asked.

Kai Jaska and the council's special division were also there, though standing well in the background and out of sight. Makarov knew they were trying to keep obscured, just in case anything happened.

As the timepiece ran down, the sweat began pouring down Makarov's brow. He kept stealing glances at the door, waiting for something to happen.

Then, just before the final minute was up, the door opened. Natsu came in, Wendy at his right side and Carly and Happy behind them. Makarov eased slowly back into his chair, relaxing against the high back.

"We're here for the report," Natsu said as he came to a stop near the center of the room. Makarov had to work to hold back a smirk when he saw the displeased expression on councilman Romulus's face.

"I see only you, Wendy, and the two exceeds," Romulus said in a severe tone. "Wasn't the demon Mirajane also a part of your investigative team?"

"She is part of my team sir, but we have an important witness that we brought with us based on some very disturbing information. Seth Gardite, a member of the 'dark council,' is here to testify to the involvement of Kai Jaska as one of the two council heads. So Mirajane is in a holding room with the prisoner, to make sure he doesn't escape and to make sure he's not assassinated."

Makarov started sweating again. Damn that idiot! Didn't he have the sense to know not to say the man's name in front of the whole council? It was understandable for the dragon slayer not to notice the man's presence, since he was deep in the background. But to say his name just like that was madness! Even if he expected them to call for the witness immediately, Kai could move that fast. Faster, even, if rumors were true!

Feeling a scowl beginning to form on his face, the first master looked toward the floor area where the council's "special ops" division was sitting. What he saw sent a chill down his spine. Kai was gone.

The master tried to motion to Natsu and Wendy as the council gave their reply, trying to figure out a way to warn them that their key witness was about to become a non-factor. But they were both attentive to whatever it was that Romulus was saying at the moment. Neither looked his way. Why wouldn't they look? At least glance?!

Suddenly the first master had an idea. Who happened to be sitting right in front of him besides Meredy – one of the newest, and sexiest, members of his guild. With a sly smirk he reached his hand down and gave her firm bottom a sound pinch.

"EEEP!" Meredy squealed, and Makarov accepted the stinging slap to his left cheek. Every eye was turned to him at the moment, so he couldn't be too overt about his message. But there was one thing he hoped Natsu would understand. A quick signal, his forefinger extended into the air with his other fingers curled in, the palm of his hand facing him. Then a quick turn of the hand to point to Natsu, coupled with a quick look out the door.

There. That should get at least one of them thinking. Natsu may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but Wendy, or at the very least, Carla, would be certain to see and interpret that correctly.

But to his frustration all four of them, huge, stupid grins plastered on their faces, returned the sign, imitating the manner in which he gave it. They even went so far as to point to him with a nod toward the door, mirroring every movement exactly. His palm hit his forehead before he could stop the motion. Why was every Fairy Tail mage so dense in the moments when they needed to be on guard?

The conversation went on for a few more minutes, the councilmen taking turns asking questions about the mages they caught and interrogated. Natsu confirmed that both had implicated the head of the special ops division in the dark council, but only Seth agreed to testify against him before the council.

Makarov felt like a fool as the conversation continued. He tried pointing. He tried jumping up and down. He even tried a wolf whistle when Lucy came back from a visit to the restroom in her rather revealing clothing. Carla gave him several disapproving looks, which he attempted to use to communicate the problem to her through hand and eye signals. But the usually smart exceed was as dense as Natsu. She just shook her head and glared at him.

Then came the moment Makarov had been dreading. The moment that everyone would realize how foolish it was to openly announce the impending indictment of the head of the special ops division in front of him.

"Well, let's see this witness of yours," Romulus said, sounding a little bored.

Natsu nodded. "Yes, sir. I will signal my team to bring him at once." He then proceeded to pull out his communications lacrima. "Mira, it's time to bring in the witness."

Makarov looked away when the doors finally opened, unable to look. He instead watched the council members who started rising to their feet, one at a time. Their faces were a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

"What is the meaning of this?" Romulus growled. "You said you would be bringing in Seth Gardite."

Makarov flinched, turning back toward the scene he knew was unfolding. He was ready to jump to Natsu's aid when he inevitably started panicking. When he realized that his whole plan fell apart and that Kai—

Was standing there with Natsu, cuffed and held by Mirajaned and DiMaria?

"Members of the council, everything will be explained shortly." It was DiMaria who spoke now, stepping forward as Natsu motioned her to. "During our investigation into the dark council, we discovered not only that Kai Jaska was one of the two heads of the council, but also that he uses a specialized magic that allows him to stop time for people and objects. We used this knowledge to our advantage, as you will see in the recording that the record keeper will now play for you."

All eyes turned toward the large screen that sat over the door – the only space in the room that was visible from every seat. The image that appeared there was that of a man, cuffed and bruised, sitting on a chair with Mirajane only a few feet away. Then suddenly the camera blurred, and Kai Jaska stood in the room next to the man.

 _"Seth, seth," Kai said to the unmoving man before him as he pulled his blades out. "I thought you were at least smart enough not to betray me. You of all people should know all the guars in the world can't keep me from silencing you forever."_

 _He stopped, his swords inches away from Seth's throat. "But I suppose I should thank you. It was your promise to testify that drew the hunters out, and now I'll be free of them. Oh, it won't be easy, clearing my name and turning it back to the favor of the people, but at least it can be done. And just think, you made that all possible Seth."_

 _With those words he brandished his weapons, two daggers with curved blades, and moved in quickly for the strike._

 _Which Seth's sword instantly came up to block, his hands suddenly free of the cuffs_. _The image of Seth shimmered, and was replaced by DiMaria._

 _"Who-who are you?" Kai stammered, backing up a couple steps._

 _"The final member of the investigative team," DiMaria said, a smirk on her face. Then she moved in, her hands a blur as she hit the man, who was still unprepared for a battle. As he crumpled to the ground, she caught him and placed the cuffs on._

The video cut out. Most of the council was looking at Kai in shock. Romulus looked like he just lost his best friend.

"That-that's impossible," he said. "Kai knows we have video lacrimas in all those rooms. He wouldn't have tried to assassinate the prisoner!"

"Not impossible," Natsu replied, stepping forward. "Kai's magic allows him to control the flow of time for other people and objects around him, so a recording lacrima is no big deal to him. He can go in, spend as much time as he wants in the room, and come out again before the lacrima records even a millisecond."

"Then how did this recording happen?!" Romulus' volume was rising rapidly, the tone of his voice taking on a harsh quality.

"Well," A small smirk played across Natsu's face. "To put things simply, though Kai's time manipulation is most certainly a fearsome magic, it can't hope to stand before the god of time. Or his vessel. Which is where DiMaria came in."

"Which brings me to another question," The councilman said, turning his glare again upon the young dragon slayer. "How is it that an enemy of Ishgar comes to be in league with Fairy Tail?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Ishgar won the war against Alvarez, and DiMaria wanted to join Fairy Tail. Surely you know by now, councilman, that it is Fairy Tail's way to accept any mage who sincerely wants to join, even former enemies. DiMaria is not the first former enemy to join our guild."

"But DiMaria is different! She's not just an enemy of Fairy Tail, but to all of Ishgar, and the kingdom of Fiore! Just associating with her could constitute treason!"

Makarov shivered when Natsu's eyes changed. Never in his life could he have imagined that the fun-loving, carefree orbs could become as cold and hard as they now were. Judging from their reactions, the council members could sense the change as well. Many of them looked as though they were trying to become part of the seats they were sitting in. Many were pleading with their eyes for Romulus to stand down. Only Romulus continued his belligerent stand against the dragon slayer.

"Councilman," he said, his tone bearing an icy authority that shook Makarov to the core. "I hardly think that you are in a position to say what constitutes high treason. The war with Alvarez is over. If I am correct, a peace treaty exists now between the Alvarez Empire and the kingdom of Fiore. Rather than hurling accusations, shouldn't the head of the magic council be rejoicing that a mage as powerful as the vessel of Chronos has joined the ranks of our allies? Surely as the head of the council you aren't allowing your personal dislike of a particular wizard guild to corrupt the good judgment of this council. But if you think this is treason, by all means call for the king right now and let him decide."

Looking around, Makarov saw the stunned expressions of Fairy Tail. None of them were used to seeing this Natsu. The one that could actually think, defend his actions, and stand down a councilman without threatening violence against him. Even Gray was staring at his rival, his mouth hanging open so far it looked as though he were trying to reach the floor with his lower jaw.

Makarov returned his attention to Councilman Romulus. The man was still standing, his face impassive. Yet the master of Fairy Tail could see his turmoil reflected in the way his eyes darted back and for the from Natsu to Kai, and also to DiMaria. His fingers tugged at his long black beard before he finally spoke again.

"Then let's return to the matter at hand. How is it that Dimaria Yesta's presence in Fairy Tail, and on this impromptu team of investigators, was never reported to the council?"

At this point Makarov nudged Meredy, who took the hint and moved down to the council floor. "That was my doing," She said, her delicate features set in a hard line. "As you know, councilman, my position carries with it a certain allowance to act according to my discretion. DiMaria came as an unexpected guest to Fairy Tail. Her original intent was just to be part of the team that tried to kill Brandish's daughter, but in order to do that she had to become a part of Fairy Tail. So, as an undercover investigator, I was presented with the unique opportunity to send somebody on the team that nobody knew of except myself and the master. This is a rare opportunity in our business, as I'm sure you're aware councilman, and I couldn't rule out the possibility that there was a traitor on the council. Especially after Jellal's attack on the child."

"What does Jellal's attack have to do with the council?" Romulus asked.

Makarov felt a faint smirk come to his lips. The councilman's desperation to pin something – anything – on Natsu and his team that he wasn't taking the time to think things through. Meredy's answer to the question came straightforward, however, having none of the haughty tone that Romulus had showed through the entire hearing.

"As you must be aware, councilman, Jellal was placed in Fairy Tail at the council's orders. Most would consider this a coincidence, but one of the first principles of the special operations division of the council is that you never consider anything a coincidence."

"That still doesn't explain why Natsu Dragneel thought it would be appropriate to ignore the council's orders and not give a full report after the first member you apprehended."

Here Natsu stepped forward again. "I can explain once again, councilman. After receiving information from the first council member that Kai Jaska, a prominent member of the council, was involved with the dark council, I considered my decision to keep this information from the council at present to fall within the license I was given as the leader of this small task force. Giving this information to the council would have resulted in an inquiry into the legitimacy of this information. This would have resulted in my team being held in Crocus for questioning and an entire halt to the investigative process. Without more proof, the final result probably would have been for us to be ordered to cease our investigation, and the rest of the dark council going free."

Natsu leaned forward a little, fire coming to his eyes. "Now you may not think that a bad thing, councilman. But these men tried to kill my daughter, who is still no more than an infant. They also severely hurt one of my best friends, and she may never recover from her injuries. There's no telling how many other innocents they have hurt or killed in their self-imposed 'guardian' roles. Nor do we know how many more people's lives would be destroyed by them. Now, councilman, you may not have a problem with that. But as a citizen of Fiore and a wizard of Fairy Tail, I cannot in good conscience leave such people free to terrorize the people."

Romulus openly glared at Natsu at this point. "You'd better watch your tongue, wizard. Don't think that this has earned you any special privileges with the council."

Natsu just shrugged, stepping backward. "If that's all in terms of your questions, councilman, I would like to request that the matter be brought before the council for their vote. I have a wife and a child at home that I haven't seen in weeks."

"If it were up to me, you would spend a few years in the council prison to shrink that enormous ego," Romulus said authoritatively. Makarov didn't miss the subtle hint he was trying to give the rest of the council. "However, according to council rules, we must decide as a council on such matters."

At this point Warrod stood up. "Perhaps you have forgotten, Romulus, that the chair of the council is a position only there because it is needed, and not because it holds more authority than the others. As members of this council, each of us have equal right to speak what we will and decide on our own the right way to pursue a matter."

He then turned to face the council. "What I must say, I say to you, fellow members of the council. I have learned much by listening to this conversation, and now I must ask each of you to search his own heart. While the methods we saw today may have been a bit unorthodox, this happened because, once again, corruption was spawned within our very walls. While we went about the important matter of protecting the citizens of Fiore, we brought in somebody who is destroying what each of us is trying to protect. But how we respond to the situation is of grave importance."

He paused here, and Makarov watched the council's expressions. Most were unreadable. Some nodded in agreement. Romulus and a couple others had their fists clenched, and their faces were slightly red.

Warrod then continued. "We can respond to this by accepting that we, the magic council, failed to protect the people of Fiore, which is our sworn duty. We can purge the dark council from our ranks and be thankful that he was exposed before he did more damage, or we can resent the people who exposed him because it hurts our pride and our image."

Again he paused, and Makarov saw his eyes lock with Romulus as he spoke the last lines of his address to the council. "But if we choose to mete out punishment unjustly in order to protect our pride, we are no different from the dark council itself."

There was a long silence, and Makarov watched as the two wizards stared at each other. He could see that neither would be backing down from their position, and not for the first time he found himself thankful that Warrod held his place on the magic council. Jura also looked on in approval of Warrod's speech.

"If nobody else has anything to say, then we will proceed to vote on the fate of this miscreant. And Kai Jaska as well." Romulus accentuated every word as he glared at Warrod. Makarov sighed and shook his head. How did these people always end up on the council anyway?

The council disappeared into their private chambers to vote, and they were only there for a few minutes before they returned to the main room. Romulus looked rigid as he walked, his fingers clenching and unclenching repeatedly. Veins on the side of his neck bulged out a little, and the scowl on his face was even deeper than when they'd gone in for the vote. Makarov smirked. That meant good news.

"The council has reached its decision," Romulus said through clenched teeth. "First, the Fairy Tail mages are free to return to their guild. Though they may be called upon to testify at the trial of Kai Jaska. Second, Kai Jaska shall immediately be brought to the council prison to await trial, along with Seth Gardite, who is now in our custody, and Nurako. Third, a new team will be assembled by Meredy to hunt down the remaining members of the 'dark council' using the information obtained by Natsu Dragneel and his team. That is all."

With that he turned, heading back to the council's private area and most likely his chambers. Makarov grinned as he spotted Warrod, heading over to greet the old mage.

"Thanks old friend," he said.

Warrod smiled. "You know I would do anything for Fairy Tail, Makarov. But," his face saddened as he continued, "I did only what every member sitting in that assembly should have done."

"But the important thing is that enough of them agree with you," Makarov said. "It means there may be hope for the council after all."

"Perhaps," Warrod replied. "But I don't know how much longer I'll be there. I'm nearing the end of my time, Makarov. But who in the new generation will be the voice of reason on the council? I fear for the future of Fiore if the younger members are left to their devices. Too many of them are like Romulus, hungry only for the prestige that comes from being on the council and not caring about the right thing to do."

"They'll grow up," Makarov said with a shrug. "And if they don't, we'll just replace them."

Warrod laughed heartily, slapping Makarov hard on the back. "Now that I can certainly believe." He said. "And also, old friend…" He motioned for Makarov to lean closer, and the old wizard saint complied. "I should tell you… Laxus and Freed are… How shall I put this?... in a relationship."

"WHAT?!" Makarov shouted, tears streaming from his eyes. "My grandson was meant to love women! Lots of beautiful women that I could sneak sexy pictures of for my nighttime activities collection! He can't be gay!"

"It was a joke," Warrod laughed as Laxus came over from his position in the seating area.

"Who's gay, gramps?" He asked.

"Oh look, beer!" Makarov said, making a quick escape. He exited the building and found the nearest bar to celebrate Fairy Tail's victory.

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So there it is. Read, review as always. And remember to vote for your favorite story in the poll :D


	15. Chapter 15

**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters, Mashima owns those.

xxgrayxxbonanza - if you can't tell, I really don't care what's canon. You want to read canon, read canon. It's called fanfiction for a reason, dude.

Pointlessanduselessguy - it was one of Warrod's jokes. Though I'm pretty sure that Freed's gay in canon, I'm also pretty sure Laxus isn't, and he definitely isn't in my fics.

Thanks for the likes, favorites, and reviews. Last chapter coming soon! (I actually have it mostly written, but decided to split the last chapter into two chapters. All I had to do was find a good place to cut it off, which I think I did :D. Anyway, last chapter will be out soon, and then I'll have a few new stories to post :D.

Read and review, as always ^^**

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Brandish reached down into the crib, smiling as little fingers curled around hers.

"Mommy heard from the capital today Akemi," she said softly. "Your daddy should be back soon."

According to the news they'd received from Crocus, the head of the "dark council" was apprehended, and the magic council had no more questions for Natsu and his team. Of course, this meant Natsu would be returning soon.

"Ga," Akemi cooed at her from the crib. Brandish smiled again, her eyes checking out the window on instinct. It felt a little strange not seeing the usual 3 person guard outside the house, but the entire guild had been summoned to participate in the council hearing. Only Brandish and Erza had been permitted to remain to take care of the baby. Master Makarov hadn't liked the idea much, but the council ordered it.

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that they would be returning already today. She expected to be on her own for at least 3 to 4 days, so having everyone come back after only one night in Crocus was beyond her best hope.

And best of all, Natsu would be back. A part of her found it hard to imagine the happy-go-lucky dragon slayer hunting down an elusive mastermind.

But she was still troubled by the order received from the council for the entire guild to attend. Now that just seemed ridiculous.

A sudden glint caught her eye to her right, and she stuck her hand out on instinct. Then she flinched as sharp pain shot out from her hand, even as she turned her head to look. A silver-bladed dagger with black markings pierced through it, and based on the angle the dagger would currently be in her child's chest if her reflexes were just a bit slower.

Quickly putting herself between the crib and the window, she reached to pull the dagger out of her hand. But it wouldn't budge. In fact, when she tugged on it, the whole surface of her hand moved, as though the dagger was spread out just under her skin. She frowned, shrinking it down to the size of a needle. Or that's what should've happened, but the dagger was unaffected.

The room began to warp in front of her, and she found herself working to stay on her feet. Shit. The dagger must've been infused with a dark magic to weaken and incapacitate the target. In fact, there was a good chance she was the target the entire time. Which meant…

Her eyes narrowed in anger as a cloaked man smashed the window in and stepped through, throwing back his hood to reveal a red tattoo on his face and a shock of blue hair. Beside her she heard the loud cries of Akemi piercing the air, but was unable to do anything as her vision faded, her form collapsing next to the crib that held her precious child.

 **~~~~~~On the train~~~~~~**

"Ugh…" Natsu groaned, hunched over the window in the train that sped from Crocus toward the distant town of Magnolia. His motion sickness made it difficult, but he was still able to listen to the conversation taking place beside him.

"I still don't like it," Meredy was saying, her voice in a secretive whisper. "The council ordering us all there on such short notice. We should've at least asked another guild for help."

"By the time we found out about Kai, it wouldn't have made a difference," Makarov replied. "The only guild that could get there fast enough is Blue Pegasus, and they wouldn't stand a chance against the people trying to kill the girl."

"I know but leaving Brandish and Erza alone with Akemi…"

Natsu almost forgot his motion sickness when he heard that little tidbit, focusing in on the conversation even more closely.

"I know, but the council's orders couldn't be disobeyed. I was barely able to get them to agree to allow Erza to stay behind. And even then, I needed Mira's testimony to convince them that she needed to stay behind for the sake of her sanity. Speaking of which, Erza will kill me if she finds out."

Wait. The council had the entire guild come out for the hearing? That order probably came from Kai Jaska! Or at least was influenced by him. And that meant…

"We've got to get back faster!" Natsu said. Or at least, that's what he tried to say. What came out was something more along the lines of, "Mrk guhg brck fghhh" A he tried his best to keep the contents of his stomach inside.

"Well, we can only hope that Erza and Brandish were able to stop any attempts that were made," Makarov said with a sigh.

Natsu leaned out the window again, his motion sickness suddenly worse. The last thing he needed to hear was that his family was in danger while he rode on this death trap, powerless to help them. His hand came to his mouth as his stomach contents again tried to forcibly exit. Why did they have to take this stupid train anyway?

"So what's your next step?" Makarov asked.

Meredy smirked. "Oh, I've got my best, most trusted agent working on Kai right now. By the end of the day we'll have the names of the rest of the organization. Then all that'll be left will be hunting them down, and Fiore will be a safer place."

"Too bad we couldn't move faster," Makarov said. "I have a bad feeling that Kai wanted everyone out of Fairy Tail for a few days…"

"With any luck he planned on having a few days and we'll make it back in time," Meredy said. "We've only been gone for one night."

"One night can be more than enough time," Makarov said, and Natsu agreed mentally. His mind went to the one night that he and his team had managed to finally track down Seth, the member who confirmed Kai's name as a leader in the council and gave them intel on three other members. One night was more than enough time to carry out a well-planned assassination. Hopefully the arrogant prick was taking his time with the assassination, thinking he had plenty of time to spare.

 **~~~~~~Natsu's Mansion~~~~~~**

Erza's eyes snapped open and she jumped to her feet, instantly alert.

After determining that the greatest threat would be in the night, when their enemies would expect them to be asleep, she and Brandish worked out a schedule for the time the guild was gone. They stayed up the entire night, then took shifts sleeping during the day.

A quick glance at a timepiece told her that she still had over an hour left till her 3 hour sleeping shift ended. But her body seemed certain she should be up.

Her rational mind told her to go back to sleep. She was just being paranoid. But her intuition said she needed to go check on Brandish and the baby.

Slowly, quietly so as not to give away her presence, she headed for the room they moved the baby to. There was no easy access from a balcony this time, but she knew this wouldn't stop the people they were up against. If they really wanted to get in, it wouldn't matter how hard the room was to get into. They could get past any defenses.

She finally reached the door and stopped, listening. She heard Brandish's soft voice, speaking to the baby. Then a happy noise from Akemi. She smiled softly as she listened. Apparently there was no reason to worry anyway. She lowered her weapons, which she just now realized were out and at the ready, and headed back toward her room.

She'd gone about 20 steps when she heard the baby again. But this wasn't happy crying! She heard it instantly. Akemi was scared. Turning, she rushed back to the room, breaking the door open without even taking the time to turn the handle.

A cloaked figure was stepping over Brandish, who lay still on the floor next to the crib. She couldn't take more time to assess her situation at the moment. Akemi's safety was paramount. With a quick motion, she whipped a sword across the room, forcing the cloaked figure to take a step back, turning his head toward her. The cloak was pulled back from his head, revealing the shock of blue hair that stopped her in her tracks. The red tattoos on the side of his face that sent shards of ice to her core.

"Jellal." She spat the name out, unable to cram enough distaste into her lips to adequately express her feelings for the name that defiled them. She summoned her clear heart armor. The only armor that was fast enough to keep pace with his meteor.

"Well, this will slow things down a little," Jellal said, turning fully to face her. "Brandish was supposed to be the only one here."

"Well, looks like you just had a stroke of bad luck," Erza growled, moving to put herself between the blue-haired mage and the baby in the crib.

"Erza, I don't really want to kill you," he said with a sigh. "But if you knew what I do about this child's future you would be on my side."

"No, I wouldn't." Erza spat out. "I've never been in the business of taking someone's life based on crimes they supposedly commit in the future. And that's especially true if that someone is a baby. You're standing here ready to put an infant to death and telling me that you're the one with the moral high ground?"

"She's going to become a monster, Erza," Jellal said. "Thousands of people will die because of her, and we can stop all this right here."

"How do you know what she's gonna' do?" Erza yelled, glaring at Jellal. "She's not even a year old yet, Jellal!"

"Look, I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but if it'll convince you I can let you in on the secret. A secret group of protectors of Fiore was contacted well over a year ago from a group from the future. We were pretty shocked when we heard what they had to say, and honestly we didn't believe them. But they gave us some pretty unbelievable things to look for as proof of their words."

"They said that Brandish Mu, one of the spriggan 12, would join Fairy Tail. That a short time after joining she would get married to Natsu Dragneel, and that soon after they would have a child. A girl, who they would name Akemi."

"So at first we watched, and you can imagine our surprise when the powerful spriggan mage not only joined Fairy Tail as predicted but married Natsu. Of course, we still waited, but soon after their marriage she got pregnant. And when they had the baby, a girl who they named Akemi, there was no doubt."

"You'll have to forgive me for not being impressed," Erza spat out. "But this story sounds very familiar."

Jellal stared at her in confusion. "You mean they contacted you too?"

"No. I mean someone from the future contacting you. Giving you events that you wouldn't believe unless you see them to incite you to action. And guess what. Last time someone from the future came back to 'save' the kingdom, that person was the cause of the very trouble they came to 'save' us from."

"Perhaps you've forgotten, in that instance there was also someone else from an alternate future that came back to save us as well. The alternate future that Rogue created. Obviously, that hasn't happened here."

"Maybe that's because unlike Rogue, your 'secret' society won't succeed in your mission the 'first' time."

Jellal just scowled at her. "Fine. I see I can't make you see things our way, but I gave you a fair chance. It pains me, knowing the happiness we could've had together."

"Happiness?" The word rolled off her tongue like poison, and she laughed bitterly. "I thought I found happiness, and you took that away from me."

"Meteor," Jellal spoke the word quietly, and Erza saw him coming. Just like the last time, his spells seemed increased in their power as though his magic power had suddenly grown disproportionately. But this time Erza dodged the strike, even moving the crib with her out of the path. The impact shattered the wall behind where the crib previously stood as Jellal turned to her again.

"Grand Chari—" before he could finish his spell, as the skies darkened overhead, Erza struck with the fastest blow she could, knocking him back through the hole and into the wall across the hall. She went after him to press her advantage, but he recovered quickly, blocking her blow with another spell.

"You shouldn't stand against me Erza," the blue-haired mage said. "Your place is at my side."

Erza scoffed. That wasn't even worth dignifying with a response. Who the fuck did he think he was telling her where her place was? He'd long ago lost even the right to ask that of her, let alone tell her where she "belonged."

She charged again, but this time his meteor was able to keep up with her. He brought a hand up, accurately moving with her strike and firing a beam of heavenly magic to delect it back. As she pushed forward with another strike, he kept pace with her, his hands moving in sync with her own. Each time he used the heavenly beams to deflect her attack. Again she tried to strike, this time feinting toward the top of his head and then changing the arc at the last moment to strike his neck near the shoulder. But he was able to adjust quickly enough, not even backing up an inch from her attacks.

Then he fired a beam over her shoulder, and the crying reached her ears again. She leapt back, barely managing to intercept it in time. Another beam followed, again aimed for the crib, forcing her back on the defensive. She felt herself steadily pushed back toward the crib as Jellal continued firing beams of his heavenly magic, making Akemi his primary target.

"Let's see you dodge this… Be judged by the seven stars – Grand Chariot!" Erza wasn't close enough to the crib to move it and dodge the attack. His speed seemed to be increasing as their fight wore on, and the walls around her were dissipating with the attacks. Gritting her teeth, she quickly requipped to her adamantine armor. Despite her almost instant requip ability, the armor had barely formed on her when the attack hit, the force of it knocking her back several feet till she felt the crib touching her back. Then she heard the sound of wood breaking and falling, and quickly leaned over the crib as the house collapsed around them. For what seemed an eternity pieces of stone and wood crashed over her, some narrowly missing the baby despite her protection as they plummeted from the ceiling.

Finally the debris stopped falling, and Erza turned back to her attacker. But as she was halfway around her turn, another strong blast of magic hit her, pushing her back and making her brace herself to keep from falling into the crib and Akemi. She recovered quickly, turning toward the bastard even as she requipped to her purgatory armor.

There was a brief pause in attacks. Just long enough for her to launch herself forward, hitting her opponent before he had time to react. She moved again, realizing that he'd dropped out of his meteor sometime during the collapse of the mansion's roof. Apparently he underestimated her armor's ability to stand up to his attacks. A mistake he would soon regret.

She landed another direct hit, decimating the wall behind him as she smashed him through it. It didn't matter though. She was driving him further away from the room, keeping him away from Akemi. She could fight with a clearer mind here, not needing to be concerned with the safety of the child.

"Heavenly beams!" His attack forced her to dodge, lessening the impact of her next blow. She growled in frustration. She was so close, and she needed to finish it quickly! She charged again.

"Heavenly beams!" This time she accepted the damage from the attack, rushing through it so that her own strike would hit unmitigated. Her opponent smashed through yet another wall, stopping against the outer wall of the mansion. Only one more strike and she would finish it!

"Meteor!" She charged forward, ready to keep up with whatever move he made. But she was shocked to see him coming straight at her full speed. Without enough time to adjust her strike, she only hit a glancing blow as he raced past her, barely knocking him off course. He slammed into a wall, but as she charged he recovered, heading through the hole and toward the crib at full speed.

"No!" Erza requipped to her flight armor. It was the only way she would be fast enough to beat him to the crib. She got there just in time, but even as she turned to block his attack on Akemi she felt it hit her. Altairis, one of his deadliest spells, before she had time to requip.

And that was when she realized he planned this all along. He pretended to strike at the baby, knowing she would be fast enough to stop him, and struck instead at the point where she now stood. The black circle hit hard, and she felt pain coursing through her entire body. She was flung against the crib before falling to the ground, unable to summon the energy to stand. To even push herself off the floor.

"Looks like this is the end, Erza. Too bad you didn't choose more wisely," Jellal said. Then he turned toward the crib again. "Altairis!"

Erza struggled, trying desperately to make her arms and legs move. She needed to get off the floor! To get enough strength to buy Akemi just a few more minutes! If she could just save her this one last time perhaps someone from the guild would be back…

But it was useless. Her body refused to listen to her, and she could only watch as the deadly attack descended on its helpless, wailing victim.

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And we're almost done. One chapter to go. Drop a review if you like :D


	16. Chapter 16

**I don't own Fairy Tail or anything in it. It all belongs to Mashima.

This is the final chapter of the Size of His Heart. Enjoy!**

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"Natsu, why are you in such a hurry? I'm sure everything's fine!"

Gray sprinted to keep up with his rival, who hadn't stopped running since they got off the train.

"I'll feel better when I know that for certain," Natsu yelled. Laxus was keeping pace with the fire dragon slayer fairly easily, using his lightning body. Mirajane was also keeping pace, now in her Satan Soul to help her keep up.

"Yeah, well maybe…" Gray trailed off as the mansion came into view. They couldn't see much of it above the wall that surrounded the estate, but the roof was obviously completely missing. Walls came to jagged stops below where the roof should've sat. There was no sign of any people in the area.

"You hear that?!" Natsu asked.

Gray shook his head, he couldn't hear anything.

"Sounds like your kid," Gajeel said from behind him. Wendy didn't say anything. She just stared at the destroyed mansion as they reached the gate.

Immediately Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily sprouted wings, carrying their respective slayers to the devastated top of the mansion. Laxus used his lightning body to instantly arrive, getting there before them.

"Ice Make, stairs!" Gray decided an ice staircase was the fastest way to get to the top. He sprinted up the stairs, then skidded to an abrupt halt when he saw what was before him.

Wendy, Gajeel, and Laxus were kneeling in front of three prone forms on the ground. Natsu was holding Akemi in his arms, rocking her back and forth softly as he watched the group, a concerned look on his face. Gray immediately recognized Erza and Brandish on the ground. The third person was a bit harder, since he seemed oddly… flattened. Blood pooled around him while guts and pieces of bone protruded from him. But as Laxus moved a little, Gray saw blue hair matted with blood.

"Jellal," he muttered. "What the fuck happened to him?"

 **~~~~~~An hour earlier~~~~~~**

At the last moment, the enormous ball of black energy suddenly shrunk to the size of a dot. It then impacted the floor, under the bed, making a small dent in it.

"That's not possible! You should be dead!" Erza heard Jellal yell, but his voice was getting quieter as he rapidly shrunk. Soon he was no larger than an insect on the ground. Erza watched as Brandish's foot came down hard on top of him, wincing slightly as she removed the foot to reveal a flattened, bloody mess.

"Perhaps you forgot I was a member of the 12…" She said before her body collapsed again. Erza watched as the body then grew again, revealing more detail. The body was flattened, guts and bones breaking through the skin where it had burst from the squeezing pressure. Even the face was barely recognizable – brain matter and blood obscured the eyes and matted the blue hair. But there was certainly no question about it now. Jellal wasn't coming back from this one.

That was the last image Erza saw before drifting into unconsciousness.

 **~~~~~~Present time~~~~~~**

"I'm guessing Brandish got him," Laxus surmised, looking at the corpse. "Looks like a cockroach that's been stepped on."

"Looks like he got them pretty good though," Wendy said. "But I'm most worried about Brandish. This dagger's got some insane dark magic in it, and I won't be able to heal her by myself."

"Bring her to Porlyusica then," Natsu said quietly. "Can you heal Erza?"

Wendy nodded. "She suffered a lot of physical damage from the battle, but I can heal her well enough. Once she's rested for a couple days she'll be back to normal."

"Good," Natsu said, rocking Akemi gently in his arms. "Akemi and I will probably stay in the guild for a few days. I'll have to get the place repaired anyway," he said, looking around at the ruined mansion.

Laxus carefully picked up Erza, bringing her back toward the infirmary. Wendy, along with Meredy who'd just arrived, carefully transferred Brandish. Natsu headed down with Akemi, the exceeds coming close behind.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs they were met by Lucy and everyone else, who were just getting to the mansion. Of course there were hundreds of questions, most of which they didn't know the answers to. Makarov contacted the local rune knight garrison, and a squad came out to remove Jellal's corpse from the site.

When they got to the infirmary, Wendy and Meredy laid Brandish carefully on one of the infirmary beds. Then Wendy ran to get Porlyusica. The old healer was grumpy at first after being interrupted, but came with the dragon slayer anyway. When she saw Brandish's condition, her old face softened into a worried frown.

"This is a dark magic indeed," she said as she ran her fingers over the wound, feeling it out with magic. "Who wielded this weapon?"

"Jellal," Natsu replied quietly. "But I think it was given to him by his co-conspirators."

Porlyusica nodded, but Natsu noticed an icy look come to her eyes. "Where is the fool now?" She asked, her hands glowing slightly with magic as she ran them over the area surrounding the wound.

"He's dead," Natsu said plainly. "It seems that Brandish was able to accomplish at least that much after his dagger hit her."

"Hmm…" Porlyusica continued to search out the wound for a few minutes before stopping. "She was brought here in time. I can heal her, but it will take a few days. I trust you'll be able to refrain from interrupting me?" She glared pointedly at Natsu.

Natsu groaned inwardly. He'd looked forward so much to seeing his wife and daughter again upon finally returning from hunting the dark council members, and now he had to wait even longer to see Brandish.

A thought then occurred to him, and he turned to the old healer. "How am I supposed to feed Akemi while Brandish is recovering?"

"There are shops all over Magnolia. I suggest you look for your answer there," Porlyusica said, shooing Natsu out.

"That wasn't very polite," Natsu muttered as he exited the infirmary with Akemi. "Guess we better go out and find you some milk."

Half an hour later, the dragon slayer was at the grocery store. He grabbed a large jug of milk and started heading to the checkout counter.

"Natsu!" He turned to see Bisca with a cart full of groceries. "I'm surprised to see you here, I would've thought you'd be with Brandish in the infirmary."

"Yeah, well I need food for Akemi, and Porlyusica just told me to go to the store for some, so here I am."

Bisca looked at the jug in his hand. "You're not getting that for her, are you?"

Natsu was confused. He specifically got milk because he was sure that was babies drank. "Umm, yes?"

"You can't feed her that milk!" Bisca said. Then she sighed. "Come with me. They make special milk for babies whose mothers can't feed them…"

Natsu turned and followed her thru the cold food section to an area that seemed to contain all dry food. She then stopped in front of a section of shelving that was filled with large cans and boxes labeled "Baby formula."

"Here you go," she said. "Any of those should do the trick for a few days."

Natsu looked over them, confused. "These are all powders," he said, sniffing at them.

"You mix them with water," Bisca replied. "And read the instructions. You actually have to warm it after you mix it."

"Huh." Natsu picked up one of the packages and read the back. Mix one half cup of formula into one cup of water? This was why he liked cooking. It was nice and simple. None of those complicated directions involving cups and half cups. There were so many questions involved. How big of a cup was he supposed to use for a half cup of formula? What about the water? Did it have to be the same size cup for each? And if so, how would he fit it all in one cup? Would he have to pour the water and the formula into a bigger cup to mix it?

"Oh come on," Bisca said with a slight giggle. "I'll show you how to do it at the guild."

"Uh, thanks." Natsu wondered how she knew what he was thinking about, but it didn't really bother him. After all, having her help him out would make things a lot less complicated.

Soon after they got back to the guild, Bisca came in with some small measuring scoops. One of them looked a little larger, was made of glass, and had incremental markings up to a top line that said "1 cup." The other was a smaller, metal scoop that said "1/2 cup" on the handle. She also had a bottle.

"Formula." She said. Natsu handed her the formula.

"Alright. I'm only going to do this once so pay attention," Bisca told him. "First, take this scoop." She held up the small metal scoop, then opened the formula. "Use it to scoop out the formula and put it in the bottle. Make sure that you level off the formula powder with the top of the scoop, or you'll end up adding too much." She grabbed a knife from the bar and used the back side to scrape the excess powder off.

"After you do that, fill this," she held the glass measuring cup up, "with room temperature water. Make sure you use room temperature water, and not hot or cold." She got some water from the bar and used it to fill the bottle. "Then mix it…" she proceeded to mix. "Then warm the bottle a little, but not too much." She then went behind the bar to the cooking area, holding the bottle over the flame for a few minutes. Then she handed it to Natsu. "It should be about this temperature."

"Ok," Natsu said after feeling it for a minute to get a good gauge of the temperature. "Thanks Bisca!"

"No problem Natsu," Bisca said with a smile. "Now I'll see you later. Hope your wife is feeling better soon!"

"Thanks," Natsu grinned. Then he looked around the guild. Was there an empty room for him to stay at with Akemi?

He decided the best thing to do was ask gramps, which he quickly did. "There should be a room on the second floor," gramps replied. "You and Akemi can stay there for the next couple days." Then he leveled a glare at Natsu. "But once Brandish wakes up you'll be finding another place to stay till your mansion's repaired."

"Sure thing gramps," Natsu grinned. Then he headed off with Akemi to find the room in question.

It wasn't a bad room, all things considered. It had a nice, queen sized bed, a sitting chair, and a personal icebox that could hold a few drinks. Other than that it was pretty bare, but really what could he expect from a random guild room?

The next couple days were a little tiring for the dragon slayer. Akemi seemed more fussy than usual and slept fitfully. As the second day wore on, Natsu found he was unable to hand the baby over to anyone, even for the short time it took to sit in for Meredy's updates on the council roundup. Things progressed quickly after the information that Natsu delivered, with all 9 of the council members now imprisoned, as well as 15 known operatives who helped them mete out "justice" in various parts of Fiore. The council had been pretty quick to clear Fairy Tail of any wrongdoing in Jellal Fernandes' death. Apparently their hatred for the blue-hair mage exceeded their need to bash Fairy Tail on every possible occasion.

After the second night, Porlyusica allowed Natsu and Akemi to wait by Brandish, saying the girl would probably wake up by the end of the day. Natsu went in with Akemi, who giggled and reached for Brandish. Then threw a massive fit when Natsu told her she couldn't go to mama yet.

By the time the fit was over, both father and daughter were exhausted, and as a result they fell asleep on the chair next to Brandish's bed.

Natsu awoke with a start, his hands barely grabbing the baby in his lap in time. The little girl had apparently awoken before him and decided she was going to try to get to mama while daddy wasn't watching. And if it weren't for his super-human reflexes she would've taken quite the tumble. He was about to scold her when Brandish's voice interrupted her.

"Hey sleepyhead," her tone was soft, and she smiled at him despite her obvious fatigue.

"How's my favorite girl?" He asked, leaning over to cup her cheek with his free hand.

"Looks like she's doing fine," Brandish said with a slight smirk, motioning toward Akemi.

Natsu rolled his eyes at her. "She may be a close second, but she's not my favorite girl. Even little Akemi can't take your place in my heart."

"Hehe. Well, I survived…" Brandish said. "You took your time getting back, though."

Natsu's smile faded as he recalled their return to the mansion, almost finding the scene he'd feared. Akemi was alive, but almost at the cost of two other lives. "I would've been home sooner if I could."

"I know," Brandish said, putting her hand on his arm gently. "You got back as fast as you could. And everything turned out alright in the end."

"Yeah, thanks to you and Erza." Natsu said, his smile returning. "It was just so hard coming back and seeing you like that. I was afraid you were dead at first."

"Well, I think that was the plan," Brandish said. "But fortunately, I don't die easily."

"That's a good thing," Natsu smirked.

"So when do we leave?" Brandish asked.

"Leave?" Natsu was surprised by the sudden change of pace in the conversation.

"Yes. I need to get out of this infirmary. When do we leave?"

"Oh. Well, as soon as Porly clears you I guess," Natsu said. "But just so you know, we're gonna' have to find a new place till they finish repairing our mansion. Gramps said we can't stay in the guild anymore."

"Ah well, better for us to have the privacy anyway," Brandish said with a wink.

"Hmm… If you think you can handle what's coming tonight," Natsu smirked.

"Oh, I've always been more than capable of handling anything you could give me."

"Mmmmhmmm…"

"Well, for now I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up when you're ready to leave."

Natsu didn't even have time to respond before she was out again. He lifted a brow as he looked at her delicate features, peaceful and contented in the dreams she drifted off to.

"Well," he told Akemi as he got up. "Guess we better go find a place."

 **~~~~~~2 years later~~~~~~**

"Congratulations Brandish, Natsu. You've got a wonderful little boy!"

"Aww, he looks just like his daddy…" Brandish said, stroking the little pink fuzz that lined the boy's head. "What should we name him?"

"How about… Jellal?" Natsu said.

He instantly cowered down under the glares he received from the women present in the room. "It was just a joke!" He yelled, throwing his hands up defensively. "You know I would never name our son that!"

"You're still gonna' receive the beating of your life as soon as you leave this room, just for bringing up that name." Brandish said.

"You can't do anything to make good on that for at least another few weeks," Natsu smirked.

"Oh yeah?" Suddenly Brandish raised her voice. "Hey Erza! You need to hear the 'joke' Natsu just made!"

Erza came in through the door, and Natsu bolted. Brandish whispered a quick to her, and her eyes widened.

"Come back here and take your punishment, you coward!" She yelled as she started chasing Natsu through the house.

"You know," Brandish sighed as screams started echoing through the house. "We never did decide what to name you… Hmm… How about… Spriggan? Yes. Very fitting. We'll name you after your uncle Zeref."

Then she closed her eyes and let sleep claim her, holding their new son against her chest. The nightmare from 2 years before was little more than a faint memory now, and she could move toward a bright future with her love and their children.

By the time a slightly battered Natsu and a still fuming Erza returned to the room, she and Spriggan drifted off to dream world.

 **~~~~~~NatsuxBrandish~~~~~~~**

"We never did name you, did we?" Natsu said as he looked down at the sleeping baby in his sleeping wife's arms. "Hey, I've got an idea. We'll name you Atlas Flame after your great uncle! He was the coolest dragon ever! Well, I guess just Atlas would probably be best… Atlas it is. We're gonna have a great time, Atlas! Erza, let the guild know the official name!"

"Don't you want to wait till Brandish wakes up to make sure she's ok with it?"

"Na, I've been married to her for two years! She'll be fine with it, believe me."

"Ok…" Said Erza, before heading off to the guild.

A few minutes later, as he lay there staring at his wonderful son Atlas, Brandish stirred in her sleep.

"Oh, you're back Natsu…" She said with a big sleepy smile. "Say hi to your daddy, Spriggan!"

"Spriggan?" Natsu looked around, wondering who she was talking to.

"Your son, silly. I named him Spriggan after his uncle."

"Oh…" Natsu felt the color drain from his face. It was too late to call Erza back… Well, at least he had time to escape before guild members started arriving.

"Hey Natsu, Erza told me all about little Atlas!" He flinched, turning to see Lucy standing behind him. "Congratulations, both of you!"

"Atlas?..." Brandish's bangs covered her eyes as she looked at Natsu.

"GOTTA GO BYE!" Natsu yelled, running out of the room. He could only hope he survived the rest of the day.

Yep. Just another normal day at Fairy Tail.

 **~~~~~~Fin~~~~~~**

* * *

 **All done! Yay! Leave a review please! I'll be posting some other stories soon, and updating some older ones. So stay tuned!  
**

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Cheers!


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